The Pack
by Carlypso
Summary: Carla has never been in a pack. In fact Alcide is the first werewolf she has ever met and it's just their luck that like her, he is a lone wolf too. AlcideXOC
1. Chapter 1

New neighbors weren't uncommon in his neighborhood, so when the house across the street went up for sale he didn't think anything of it. It didn't bother him that he knew nothing about the person moving in because he usually didn't care. He wasn't the type of person to go and pry, and now that Debbie was no longer around he didn't know anything about the people on his street.

She seemed to have a knack for knowing who was doing what, and when. This also included who was moving in and out of the houses on the street. Usually she would bake a batch of goodies and go introduce herself. This was before everything went downhill, and now he knew nothing about anyone.

He was sure people talked, because people always did. So he was more than positive that all the neighbors on the street looked at him with curious eyes and talked about why there was suddenly a single man living in a large house on his own. He also figured that they spread rumors of what they thought had happened between him and Debbie. This didn't stop him from giving everyone a friendly wave if he saw them, to which they awkwardly returned.

Returning home from work one night he noticed that the house across the street had some life in it. He couldn't smell from his front yard who had moved in, but he could see a single police car sitting in the drive way. Along with a few dog toys sitting in the front yard, he almost missed the large German Sheppard that watched him from the yard its tongue hanging out in a sloppy fashion.

The dog's ears picked up and for a brief moment he thought the dog would come bolting across the road. Alcide was wrong, and as he grabbed his bag from the back of his truck the dog remained in the yard watching him curiously. This behaviour continued for the next couple of days, but it seemed as the more time passed the closer the dog would towards his house.

He was more than positive, that the dog was curious like many dogs were when they came across any werewolf. It was something about the way they smelled that triggered their curiosity, or caused them to run away with their tails between their legs.

Pulling his bag out of the back of his truck he swung it around and narrowly avoiding hitting a dog. Alcide didn't expect the dog to be there, so when it skittered across his lawn to get away from him he felt guilty. The dog eyed him wearily; unsure of what the man would do to him.

"Hey boy, come here!" Alcide called crouching down and reaching his hand out for the dog to smell. The dogs ears perked up, he took a couple of steps forward to make sure Alcide wasn't going to attack him before almost running to his hand and sitting proudly.

Alcide could tell this dog was well trained; in fact he wouldn't be surprised if the dog was part of the K9 unit. It would make sense after all since whomever it belonged to was part of the police force. He could also tell that if he sat there all night petting the dog, it would be more than happy to oblige. So patting him one final time he sent the dog on its way, which to his surprise the dog listened.

Shaking his head he, stood up and made his way into the house. It seemed over the next few days he would arrive home late, and the dog would be waiting for him in the front yard. Then with a bounce in its step it would make is away across the road to greet Alcide.

He still had never seen the owner of this dog, and at times wondered if the owner was even paying attention. He was sure they didn't know of their beloved pet's daily trip across the street, because if they did they would have tied the dog up. Something inside of him told him not to say anything because he would miss his daily greetings.

On this one particular day it had been raining when he pulled into his drive way, quickly trying to get out of the rain he grabbed the bag in the back of his trunk and tried to dash for the front door. He was stopped when his bag jerked back. For a split second he wasn't thinking right and his hand released the bag.

When he had realized what he had done, it was too late. The dog had already ran away with his bag, across the street, up the porch and into the house. Alcide wasn't far behind him, and he would have caught the bag if the screen door didn't slam in his face. Irritated he ran his fingers through his hair and knocked on the wooden screen door.

The front entrance way was empty allowing him to see the living room, dining room and two dogs. Alcide was unaware that there were two dogs living in the house. The second dog looked much older, and was eying the lunch pail in front of it, beside him sat Alcide's friend who wagged his tail happily.

Movement came from somewhere in the house and he watched as a woman dressed in a police uniform made her way towards the door. She must have been no taller than 5'6" and appeared to be very young. Much younger then himself, he was stunned for a few seconds by her beauty.

She had ocean blue eyes, a flawless face, and long curly hair that was tied back in an elegant twist. She obviously went to a hair dresser to have her hair done because in her blond hair was a few highlights. He felt a little stupid even knowing that much about women's hair, and blamed his sister. She did after all practice on him from time to time, not that he really cared.

He realized he was staring when the woman gave him a strange look and tilted her head to get a better look at him. He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed as he tried to think clearly.

"Your, ah dog…ran off with my bag." He muttered releasing the applied pressure on his nose. The woman suddenly laughed and opened the screen door. He noted her teeth, and how they were all white and straight. Not that Alcide had anything against crooked teeth, it was just anyone could appreciate a nice smile on a girl.

"I'm so sorry about that, he is a little bit of a kleptomaniac. Come on in and I'll get you, your bag." The door had a slight squeak to it as it opened wide enough to allow him entrance. Once Alcide was in, she released the door and it slammed shut with a bang.

Alcide hadn't realized how cold it was outside until the heat inside her house hit him. It smelt of fresh oranges, and taking a deep inhale of the sweet air, when he stopped smelling something familiar. A look of confusion crossed his face as he watched her quickly walk into the room her bag snatching dog was in. She was softly talking to Alcide about god only knows, when she returned with his belongings.

"Sir, are you alright?" She asked for the second time. Alcide had fully snapped out of his trance his eyes glancing down at his bag hanging from her hand. He could see that there was a soft coating of saliva on the straps, not that it bothered him.

"You're a wear!" he stated plainly, he must have appeared to be crazy because she dropped the bag. Her right hand suddenly reached for her gun with panic in her eyes. He instantly felt stupid and reacting quickly he raised his hands in self defense. There was no way he could win against a gun, regardless of what kind of super he was.

"WO-WO-WO!" He chanted, stepping back from the woman. The commotion had caused the dogs to stir and they lazily peeked around the wall to see what was going on. The woman's eyes were wide and terrified and Alcide knew she was only acting on instinct to protest herself. It was strange to him that she hadn't picked up that he was one too. She should have been able to smell him.

The realization hit him like a brick wall, she had no idea that he was a wear. It was easy to smell another wolf, they all had a similar sent. Except females usually had a sweeter smell to males, and males had a more musky sent to females. Which made sense, most werewolf's were built to breed like wolfs, and sent was one of the many factors they used to pick mates.

"It's okay, I'm a wear too." He said his hands still up in the air, her hand was still drawn back towards her gun and a look of disbelief appeared on her face. The look didn't sit well on her face, and if anything it made her more attractive than it should have.

"Prove it." She said clenching her jaw together. Alcide flinched; she wanted him to prove it? He couldn't think of how much worse it could get.

"Are you serious?" he choked watching her eyes narrow. With a sigh he pulled his shirt over his head watching her hand carefully, she had since then placed her hand on the handle of her gun and motioned for her dog to be by her side. Although the dog looked uninterested in attacking Alcide, he was sure that the dog would do anything for his owner.

He tossed his shirt on the floor before moving his hands to his belt. Uncomfortable with a woman he didn't know see him naked he undid his pants and shifted into a wolf trying his hardest to make sure she didn't see anything. Although he knew she had in fact seen him naked. It was impossible not to.

The look on her face was one of disbelief and confusion. Her mouth was slightly a jar as a white wolf looked back at her. For a brief moment Alcide thought that she might faint but when she sharply walked out the room her dogs tailing at her heals. Alcide tilted his head not fully understanding what just had happened, an in the blink of an eye changed back into his human form. His muscles were sore, and he could feel the strain of his full day of work on his body.

The one good thing about shifting as often as he did was that he learned how to skillfully to pull his clothes. He could do it in less than 10 seconds, if he left his clothes laying a certain way. It had saved him from a couple close calls growing up, and if he wasn't so lucky he was sure he would have been charged with public indecency years ago.

Ignoring his shoes he slowly made his way through the house looking for the small woman who had walked away in a trance almost minutes ago. He almost didn't find her, and the only reason he did was because he spotted a dog tail slightly swaying from the outside porch.

His hand pushed the door open releasing a loud squeak into the night. The woman, who he still knew nothing about, sat on the steps that led to her back yard her head in her hands. Clearing his throat one of the dogs stirred in excitement.

"Mam, you alright?" He asked stopping behind her. A paused silence hung over them and she sat stiffly still. He could feel his heart drumming in his chest unsure of what he should expect in the next few moments. She inhaled deeply removing her hands from her face and looking at him in the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, just didn't expect that." She said, her lips pressed together firmly.

"You look like you've never seen a wear before." He said, when her body flinched he knew his suspicion was right. Normally meeting a lone wolf was not a good sign, it wasn't the worst thing you could come across. But a wolf by them self usually meant there was a reason, and those reasons were never positive. Not that Alcide could judge because he was now a lone wolfs.

But a wear that had never seen another shift worried him.

"That's because I haven't, you're the first werewolf I've ever met." She used her right hand to push herself off the porch and elegantly moved around him. He had tried to hide the stunned look on his face, but judging by the way she looked at him as she passed proved to him that he didn't hide it well.

With a loud crack the door hit the side of the house and he followed after her. His inner wolf barking at him to find out more about this woman. Wanting to know if she was a threat or just simply a very unlucky individual.

Alcide quickly deduced a couple of things about the young woman. The first was that the young woman wasn't raised by anyone with the werewolf gene, this could mean a couple of things. Like maybe she was raised by her grandparents, or she was a foster child. But it was impossible for her not to have ever met another werewolf if someone in her family carried the gene or at least knew about it. They would have introduced her to some kind of pack if they did. It was just a built in nature for a wolf to join a pack, to be a part of a pack.

Normally if a werewolf didn't belong to a pack they suffered from extreme depression. It wasn't uncommon for a wolf to commit suicide when this happened. This would also explain why she joined the police force, and the K9 unit of all things. The police were like a brotherhood, and they all had each other's backs just like a pack. Then her dogs were the closet things she could actually get to other than a werewolf. Dogs were after all domesticated wolfs.

The dogs seemed to dance around his feet as he followed after her. She returned to the entrance way scooping up his heavy lunch bag before successfully handing it to him. He didn't know what to say so he simply watched her as she chewed on the inside of her lip, clearly hinting for him to leave. But the urge to not be the only wolf around was too strong.

Sticking his hand out straight he simply stated, "Alcide."

For a brief moment she fought herself whether she should or not before she quickly slid her hand into his much larger.

"Carla." She said simply, watching Alcide nod.

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**Please review if you would like me to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

A moan of satisfaction left Carla's lips when she placed the chicken in her mouth and for a split second she had almost forgotten about the group of officers that sat at the table with her. Although the police force she joined was small, the people who worked at the station were easy to get along with.

But of all the people at the station Carla liked an officer by the name of Kenya Jones. Kenya had the brooding type of humor to her that Carla liked, and it also helped that she was one of the very few females that worked at the station.

Carla was surprised that the small town had gotten a K-9 unit. Normally the town would have just requested the dogs from another station because the town was so small, but with the high rise in crime around Bon Temps they had earned their own K-9 unit. They were lucky that Carla was looking for a transfer.

"Sorry, haven't eaten a good meal in a few days." She murmured grabbing a large chunk of her chicken and shoving another piece in her mouth a pair of brown eyes watching her food intently. Now normally someone would have said something about bringing a dog into Merlottes' but none of the waitresses wanted to challenge the situation, and it wasn't like the dog was disrupting anything.

"So how long have you been partners?" Jason asked pointing to the dog who tried very hard to control himself. Not really wanting to share, Carla grabbed the second chicken breast and handed it to the dog. People watched on, slightly disgusted that Carla continued to pick at her fries with the same hand.

"Bruce and I have been on the force together for two years now." She said slathering a rather large fry in ketchup. Jason nodded his head in understanding, his eyes wide. It was apparent to everyone at the table that Jason found the girl attractive, and he was thinking about other things then Carla's dog.

"That's great! I bet you really love dogs!" Jason said, the silence that hung afterwards was enough for everyone at the table to chew their lips nervously. Carla watched as Jason scrunched his eyebrows together inwardly swearing at himself how stupid he sounded.

"So you said earlier that you have another dog at home?" Kenya asked pushing the remainder of her rice on the side of her plate to make it easier for her to scoop up. Nodding her head Carla swallowed what was in her mouth before answering.

"Yeah, that would be Lucy. She's retired, got her from a friend." Carla chimed picking up another fry. At the mention of his companion Burse lifted his ears. Carla didn't like leaving Lucy at home, but she was retired so she had no other choice. The same thing would happen to Bruce in a couple of years and then she would have to get a new partner. Not that she look forward to it, losing your partner was always hard.

Jason nodded his head absorbing the information he was being provided. Any conversation seemed to end at that moment and silently the small group continued to eat, Carla ever so often slipping her dog a few French fries. The truth was Carla was a small eater; she could never finish an entire plate. This usually left her very hungry later on, so she was very much a snacker. Both her dogs had learned to sit around the table when she ate, because she always passed something off to them.

It seemed just at that moment when Carla was handing Bruce a couple of French fries that the owner of the bar Sam Merlotte rounded the corner from the back. A look of confusion and frustration crossed his face seeing an animal in the restaurant, and for a brief moment he thought he was going to lose his mind.

In a moment of blind rage, he had started to march over to the owner of the dog. It wasn't until he was halfway across the floor he slowed down and his mind started to register what he was seeing. The woman sitting with the dog was new to town, and the dog was clearly hers. It was also abundantly clear that she was in a uniform and her dog wore a small black vest that said 'K-9 Police'.

Sam suddenly rethought his approach; because this was now not some hick with their dog in the bar. He also didn't want to appear like he was an idiot walking across the restaurant for nothing. Inwardly cringing he approached the small group of officers and greeted them with the biggest fake smile he could possibly muster. The smile was almost wiped off his face when he took a deep inhale of air. Werewolf.

Sam's eyes darted to the woman who looked confused for a number of reasons. The first being why did a strange smelling man just walk over to pet her dog? Still trying to keep the smile on his face he crouched down and started to pet the dog.

"Hey there little fella'." He chimed trying to avoid eye contact with the blonde woman. Everyone at the table was clearly aware of the awkward scene that was unfolding before them. Clara was unaware that she was glaring at Sam. It wasn't hard for everyone in the bar to see the way Sam stomped over to the table smiling like an idiot.

She had never smelt someone like Sam before and if anything she didn't trust him. She had already run into another Werewolf only days prior, and she wouldn't have known if he didn't flat out ask her. She was just under the impression that her neighbour smelt musky on his own. Humans did after all smell different, so it came as a great surprise to her that he was anything but.

"What's his name?" Sam asked scratching the dog's ears. Carla swallowed her pride thinking of all the nasty things she could say to the man. He had given her no reason not to like him but the idea of the strange smelling man touching her dog brought up extreme possessiveness in her chest.

"Bruce." She muttered, the man smiled awkwardly still avoiding her gaze, and just as quickly as he stormed across the room he had finished petting her dog. A silent pause hung over the group as Sam ran his hand along the back of his neck. Jason finally spoke.

"Oh, Carla! This is Sam Merlotte, he owns the restaurant." It seemed like Jason almost threw himself across the table. There was an annoyed look that crossed Kenya's face that didn't go unnoticed by a few members at the table. For a split second Sam almost reached his hand out to shake Carla's but she was unmoving and he didn't want to push his luck with an already irritated Werewolf.

"Nice to meet ya!" Sam nodded, he could feel his chest tighten and the urge to run away from the woman was growing strong. But running across the bar was sure to cause a controversy, so he continued to stand there stupidly talking the group of cops.

"So how do you liking Bon Temps so far?" He asked, Clara chewed the inside of her check.

"It's seems okay. Lots of new people and _things_." She said narrowing her eyes, Sam knew the conversation could only go south from there. There seemed to be confusion at the table and Sam quickly mumbled out a few things before walking away from the table. He was unsure of what he had said, but he knew he had told the table he would have a waitress bring Bruce his own special treat. When he was out of sight he groaned at his stupidity, and how he really needed a vacation.

The rest of the night Sam remained unseen and moody. The last thing he wanted was a dog and another super around his bar. Especially one that was a cop. Clara on the other had been itching to get home, and shortly after she received Bruce's on the house treat, she left.

With a quick turn of the wheel she pulled into her driveway shutting off the lights. Bruce danced excitedly around in the car knowing his friend was only moments away from him, and as soon as she opened the car door he bolted towards the house. She kicked a few dog toys out of her way, and walked up the stairs stopping. For what seemed the millionth time that day a look of confusion crossed her face.

On her porch stood Bruce, Lucy and Alcide.

"What the hell are you doing with _my _dog?" Clara snapped, she was very close to losing her mind. The only thing she could think of was how much of a creep Alcide was for breaking into her house and stealing her dog. Then waiting on her front porch for her to return. Alcide would have to admit that it did indeed look bad and for the second time talking to her he felt he had already screwed up.

"I just found her wandering around. I was just about to knock on your door when pulled up! I swear!" He defended; he had his hands in the air. He half expected her to pounce, her eyes were glowing and her teeth clenched. Her hand covered her face, and there was a groan that passed her lips.

"Fuck, sorry. Bad day at work, she probably ripped the screen off the back door." Clara removed her hand from her face, her eyes were no longer glowing but where not the incredible blue Alcide found hard not to look at.

"Come on in." She muttered gently pushing past him and using her key with the flick of a wrist. She skillfully kicked off her shoes and walked off in a direction. A moment later Alcide heard swearing, and with the dogs around his feet he followed her into the kitchen. The very same door that led to the backyard that he had passed through nights prior was torn to shreds. It was obvious that she had left the second door behind it open to air the house out, and that is how the dog got out. After ripping apart the screen and some of the wooden frame it was easy for her to escape.

"Shit Lucy! I don't know how to fix this!" Carla snapped looking at the perpetrator, then back to the door. She ran her hand over her forehead looking at the door. For a split second that she had forgotten about Alcide.

"Don't worry about it, I can fix it." Alcide said, she turned to look at him sharply and started shaking her head. She didn't want him to fix her house, she thought it was inappropriate. Her hand was placed on her chest and Alcide noted that she had no rings on her fingers at all. He was pretty sure she wore no necklaces either. Lose strands of her hair fell out of her elegant twist.

"I can't ask you to do that." She said simply, as if her argument was going to work. Alcide had after all dealt with a woman by the name of Sookie Stackhouse on more than one occasion. He believed that if he could deal with Sookie, he could deal with anything any woman threw at him.

"You didn't ask I offered." He could tell by the look on her face that she would fight him tooth and nail over this. But before she could continue to fight with him he raised his hand and cut her off.

"Please, it gets really hot around here and you want as many windows open for that dog if you're going to leave her home alone all day." He knew bringing up her dog Lucy would do the trick so when a look of irritation crossed her face and her hand dropped from her chest he knew he had won.

"Fine, but I'm making you Dinner." She could already feel the hunger stirring again in her stomach, and she had wished she ate more before she left the restaurant. But there was something about the man at the bar that bothered her enough that she felt she needed to leave. Alcide shook his head, silently accepting her offer. He hadn't eaten a meal cooked by a woman in a long time, and he wasn't going to fight free food.

He quickly set off to work trying to fix her screen door as quickly as possible. Normally the job wouldn't have taken him longer than 30 minutes but with both dogs curiously peeking their heads in his way every few seconds it proved to be a daunting task.

He was interrupted by the sound of a femmine throat clearing when he looked up. Clara was standing above him in a pair of jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was down and for the first time it allowed him to see how long it was, it hung just below her shoulder blades of her back, the highlights entangled in her curls.

In her one arm was two bowls and her other hand was two beers. She silently handed him a beer before stepping over him to sit on the porch. She had no chairs or tables outside so they both opted to sit on the ground. Popping the lid off his beer he watched her hand him a bowl of chili.

His bowl was filled to the brim with chili. He was sure it would have put his grandmothers cooking to shame. There was loads of meat, beans, and the wafting smell to go with it. His mouth watered, now realising how hungry he was. Her bowl although the same size had a smaller helping of Chili in it, he thought about questioning it but didn't care enough to pry.

She was watching her two dogs play in the yard when she pressed her beer to her lips. Both dogs had yet to notice the food she had brought out on the deck and she was sure they wouldn't until Lucy got to tired to play and came back to the house.

The silence between them was comfortable, and after taking another swig of beer she finally spoke.

"The other day, how did you know what I was?" Alcide had just finished putting another spoon full of chilli in his mouth and grunting in response swallowed his food.

"I can smell it." A look of confusion crossed her face as she thought about what he had said to her. It wasn't strange to her that he could smell her, but it was strange to her that he could determine what she was by her smell. She was always under the impression that everyone had their own unique smell.

Alcide used his hand to wipe his mouth, gently tugging at his jaw in the process. He never had to explain this to someone before, and it was mind-blowing to him that she couldn't determine what he was upon first meeting him.

"Weres have a distinct smell, just like any other supe. Females have this sweeter smell to them than most humans, whereas males are muskier. Humans don't smell like that, or other supes. It's a built in mechanism to ensure breeding." He said, he looked at his bowl noting that he had taken a pretty big dent in his food. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get the chance to finish it.

She started to chew her nail as she thought about it, she didn't want to sound stupid in front of someone who obviously knew so much more about what they were then she did. She could tell that Alcide smelt a lot better than anyone she had ever met. She couldn't lie to herself and say that Alcide's sent wasn't attractive.

"God I had no idea. I just assumed that some people just smelt strange for no reason in particular." She paused playing with her thumb as she thought; he could tell it was somewhat of a shock for her. Suddenly her mind was back to the man at the bar earlier, he smelt _pungent._

"What does it mean if they smell pungent?" Her eyebrows were knitted together in confusion. A smile spread across his face and he chuckled.

"Sam Merlotte?" he asked the look of confusion deepened on her face. "He's a shifter, shifters smell like that. There's not many around here though." Her jaw suddenly dropped.

"Shifter?" she asked, her jaw still open, nose scrunched up and eyebrows knitted together.

"Yeah, they can change into just about anything." She jerked her attention away from him and muttered a few curse words under her breath. He could see that her shoulders had tensed up, and that she looked a little upset over the information she was learning.

"Are there others?" she asked looking at him, her eyes a little wide. She had already met one she couldn't imagine more, but after Alcide had said there was a few shifters in the area she wanted to know if there was more of their kind.

"There is a few packs in the area, most of them wolfs and one panthers." He knew at that moment he had overwhelmed her, she wasn't looking at him and he tightly kept his mouth shut. He figured he wasn't going to tell her anything else that night. Meanwhile her mind was spinning, panthers? People could turn into werepanthers? Even more mind blowing was they lived in packs.

"I always thought I was the only one." She said, she ran a hand through her curly locks exposing new highlights he hadn't seen before. He knew if she were ever in a pack she would have been claimed by someone a long time ago. She was too beautiful for anyone not too, he was lucky to get Debbie. She was after all a beautiful girl before the drugs, and the personality change.

"Look I know it's not much, I don't belong to a pack but if there is anything I can do for you just let me know." Alcide couldn't imagine being in her position, he had learned everything about being what he was from his father and other pack members. He couldn't imagine learning it on his own, the idea was impossible to him.

"You don't belong to a pack?" she asked, her eyes once again filled with curiosity. He suddenly wished he hadn't mentioned it, because now the feeling of loneliness was creeping back in. He missed the closeness of a pack, even when sometimes being a loner was far better for him then a pack. That is if he could stay away from the depression.

A groan escaped his lips, "It's a long story."

"I'd like to hear it, if you don't mind." He couldn't say no to her, it was just something about her face. Nodding his head he began his story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Superdani a.k.a Gillian Smith, , leteverythingsparkle, Hilda , and caleb's babe for the lovely reviews. Also this story needs a Beta, the program I usually use to edit is currently uninstalled and missing in my house. So editing is a little hard without it.**

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Carla ran her hand through her hair ignoring the pain her knots caused her when she pulled at them. That was the thing with curly hair; it seemed no matter how much you brushed or took care of your hair it always seemed to tangle.

With a yawn she pulled her hair up into a messy pony tail, she knew her hair must have looked horrible but on her day off she didn't really cared what she looked like, and cared a lot less of what she was wearing. She had chosen wisely when she put on a pair of white shorts and a light pink silk tank top.

She had planned to stay home all day and hang out with her dogs. It wasn't like she had any friends in the area and even if she did she wouldn't have made plans with them. Placing a spoon in her mouth she lost herself in thought. The local grocery store had a few coupons in the mail and she was trying to decide if she really wanted any of them, or if they were really worth using.

She was right in the middle of debating if she even liked oranges when she heard screaming outside. A look of irritation crossed her face and she shook out the wrinkles in her newspaper trying to ignore the woman. It was clear a woman was angry at what could only be her husband, or some other male. But when the argument begun to get louder she rolled her eyes and slammed her fists on the table.

Lucy jumped not expecting the sudden reaction from her owner and eyed Carla carefully. Pushing her chair away from the table with a loud screech she made her way towards her front door. The reason she moved into a nice neighborhood was to avoid things like this, because even if she was off duty she was still obligated to act a certain way in public. This meant even if she was off duty, she still responsible for her actions, and had to intervene.

She concluded by the way the woman outside was carrying on that it could only get worse. Slamming the front screen open she quietly made her way down the porch, her toes curling on the cold damp ground. She would have thought to put on shoes if she wasn't so mad. Bruce happily followed at her heals curious about what was going on.

Her eyes quickly darted across the road to the culprit. A woman much taller than her and wearing a lot less clothing was screaming at Alcide who was trying to calm her down. His hands were held up as he tried to hush her. He had already seen the few shadows of people in their front windows as they peeked outside to watch. He could only imagine what they all talked about later.

He was use to Debbie just showing up in random places and start freaking out. She would accuse him of sleeping around and saying anything to hurt his feelings. Most of the time she managed to do it, because a small part of him was still in love with her. This part of him also hoped that one day she would come back to him and they could start a family. But his common sense screamed at him that he was an idiot and what he wanted would never happen.

He knew he was attracted to the young woman; she was tiny, beautiful, and blonde with a great personality. She like him was a lone wolf, and this was why he was so attracted to her. His inner wolf wanted to be with her, latch on to her and use her as some form of support. Form a friendship and have someone to watch his back. There was also the urge to mate with her, and start their own pack but it was such a small desire that he didn't even realise he had it until now.

Carla had walked across the street in her pajamas. It was clear she wasn't wearing a bra because although the top covered her, he could clearly see her shape. He silently noted a couple other things like her hips and legs, quickly determining that she would be a great mate. Her body would carry healthy pups to term as well as feed them. She would be a great provider and protector. He tried to stop his thoughts from going beyond that. It was normal for a male to think about other women as mates, but now was not the time, nor did he think it ever would be.

Shaking his head he turned his attention back to his current situation. Debbie had noticed the woman crossing the street and jealousy lit her eyes. Bruce completely unaware of what was going on bolted towards Alcide stopping to sit in front of him proudly.

"Who the fuck are you?" Debbie snapped, she took a sharp inhale of Carla's sent and released a growl from her chest when she realised what Carla was. If that wasn't enough Debbie could smell the obvious attraction between the two, sending her off into a new rage.

"Alcide is she bothering you?" Carla asked clearly ignoring the woman before her, Alcide could only nod his head yes. He didn't want to say anything in fear that Debbie would get even worse. The last thing he wanted was more drama.

Carla shielded her eyes from the sun, turning her full attention to Debbie who was boiling in her own anger. "I said who the _fuck _are you?" Debbie snapped a second time, Carla licked her lips.

"Mam, I suggest you leave before you cause any more trouble for yourself." Carla's suggestion seemed unworldly to Debbie so when she exploded in anger Alcide wasn't surprised.

"It's none of your business you whore! Do you enjoy fuck…." Carla suddenly cut Debbie off; a hard look on her face that could make any man wet their self.

"It is clearly my business; you are standing outside all of these people's homes causing a scene. I've seen your type before so I'm going to make this fairly clear to you so you understand. If you do not leave right now, I'll arrest you and drag your sorry half naked ass down to the station. Let's see how you fair when they do a drug test on you, because I'm positive that there is something in your system." Debbie snarled her eyes glowing, with a turn of her heal she walked around Carla and to her car that still had the driver's seat open. Both Alcide and Carla could have sworn that they heard Debbie mutter 'bitch' under her breath before she left.

A short pause of silence hung over the two as they both watched Debbie's truck pull away from the house. She honked her horn and flipped Carla off before leaving. Carla could only chuckle at the bravery of the woman and she noted that if she saw her truck again that she might have to pull her over and give her a speeding ticket. A short whine came from Bruce as he impatiently waited for Alcide to pay attention to him.

"She seems like a piece of work." Carla said, turning around. Alcide had complied to his K-9 friend's request and crouched down to scratch his ears. Bruce's tongue was instantly hanging out of his mouth, in pure happiness.

"She wasn't always like that." Alcide said calmly, he remembered Debbie once was a kind, caring, and compassionate person. She use to bake for the old folks at the home when they were in high school, and throughout most of their twenties. He wasn't sure how the addiction to V started, and he was at the point now where he didn't care. But it was hard to forget your first love.

"People always say that about people like her." Carla said, although Alcide hated to hear it, it was true. He wouldn't be the first or the last to say their loved one was different before the drugs. Things like that changed people, and it was never for the better.

"Who was she?" Carla asked crossing her arms, Alcide pulled his hands away from the dog silently shooing him away. Bruce did as he was told and ran into his front yard where he began rolling around. The dog proved as a great distraction from Carla because no matter how hard he tried his mind kept wandering back to the idea that she wasn't wearing a bra. It reminded him how long it had been since he had been with a woman. He had spent too long waiting on Debbie.

"Debbie, she _was _my fiancee." He said leaning up against his truck, his eyes glued on Bruce who was on his back, legs in the air. The sight of how foolish the dog was brought a smile to his lips. A sigh came from Carla and she rubbed her arms. Her toes were starting to become numb, the sun had yet to warm up anything.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." she said softly, she curled her toes trying to get more circulation to flow to them. She felt if she stood there any longer they might fall off, and then they would really have a serious situation. Alcide looked saddened by the conversation. At that moment Carla decided that she needed to leave Alcide alone.

"Look if you need anything just let me know." Carla uncrossed her arms and chewed her lip. She barely caught Alcide's eye but she could see that he was smiling. For a split second he looked at her grunting a thank you and the customary 'see you later'. Carla nodded in response calling her dog after her. Bruce barked happily and followed after her without question.

* * *

Carla yawned as she stood at the front of the station, she could feel the long day's work wearing on her bones. She thought of the wonderful bathtub she had at home, and how it would feel to fill it with hot soapy water. The very idea made her want to rush through her paperwork so she could do just that, but her writing was next to impossible to read if she wrote fast.

"Hey!" Jason seemed to skid across the floor. He tried to play it cool and rested his arm on the counter earning a look of irritation from Kevin who wasn't at all impressed with Jason lately. Jason was very good at getting on everyone's nerves. Not that he intended to, it was just Jason had no idea how annoying he could get. He was totally clueless.

"Hey." Carla chuckled; it was amazing to her that just saying hello to the man sent a smile across his face. She thought Jason was adorable, he always seemed happy. But Carla had learned her lesson with dating fellow co-workers when she was in college. While at placement she dated a boy by the name of Jamie Hanson and it didn't end well, it never ended well when you dated someone in a work setting.

Carla firmly believed that you had to spend some time away from each other in order for the relationship to work and if you couldn't get away from them at work, where could you? This had led to a short and bitter conversation with Jason. Carla made it very clear that she wouldn't date him, and as she expected she hurt Jason's feeling. But when he shy fully asked if they could be friends and she agreed a huge smile spread across his face.

"Me and um, some of the boys are going to the bar tonight for a couple drinks, you wanna come?" he asked, he pointed his thumb towards the direction of the glass doors his eyes almost seemed to dance with excitement.

"I don't know Jason, I'm not huge on the bar scene." She said tapping her pen on the counter top, she didn't like the idea of going to a bar. She had to work the next morning, but her answer didn't seem to satisfy Jason.

"Please, come on!" He begged, grabbing her sleeves and gently shaking her. Bruce stirred uncomfortably at her feet, not liking that Jason was touching her. She wasn't in any danger so he didn't attack, but his dislike for Carla being touched was evident.

"If you don't come it will be a total sausage fest!" He exclaimed, he seemed almost desperate to get Carla to join and she was positive it was just so they had a girl they could look at. She started to shake her head no, but Jason wasn't ready to accept her answer.

"Look bring a friend! A cute friend! Just please come! It's only Merlotte's!" Without warning he pulled out what Carla called his cute face. It was an adorable face Jason used to get his way, although this look didn't work on men, it was a killer for women. Carla wasn't an expectation.

With a sigh she rolled her eyes, "Fine! But only a couple of drinks!" she snapped. Jason lunged at her squeezing her tight before running of thanking her like mad.

"I'll see you there at 9!" He blurted running towards the doors. She figured he was heading home to get ready for their plans, no one wanted to go drinking in their uniform.

"I didn't get invited." Kevin muttered when she handed him her clipboard, and her completed forms.

"Do you really want to party with Jason." She said sarcastically, he thought about it for a split second his face void of emotion.

"You're right." He replied, walking away from her.

* * *

When Carla made it home she had decided to wear a simple tank top and sweat pants. Then to complete her outfit she put on some flip flops and tied her hair up in a messy bun, sure she looked horrible and like trailer trash but she didn't care. She was only going to go out for a few hours at the most. She wanted to be home before 11 so she could get at least 8 hours of sleep, that and the poor dogs couldn't hold their bladders if she was out too long.

She was locking up her house when movement across the street caught her attention. Alcide was digging some kind of hole in his front yard although she didn't know what for. She watched him for a moment thinking back to what Jason had said earlier.

He wanted her to bring a cute friend, and although she was sure he meant for her to bring another female, he had never specified who had to be cute. Stuffing her keys in her pocket she walked down her creaky old stairs and looked both ways before crossing the road.

Before she even got close enough to Alcide to carry on a proper conversation he looked up at her. She figured it was because he could smell her; she could after all smell him before she even entered the lawn. Working out in the sun would do that to anyone, and a heightened sense of smell would allow her to smell it much sooner than most.

"Hey!" Alcide greeted sticking his shovel in the dirt and resting his arm on it. He wiped a bit of sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, and then used that very same hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun. In the matter of an hour the sky would be covered with stars.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?" She asked, crossing her arms. Confusion crossed Alcide's face as he thought about what she was asking and his eyes drifted to the hole he was digging. Carla saw that he didn't really have an answer.

"A couple of my coworkers are going out for a drink, want to come?" Being asked to go to the bar didn't seem to throw Alcide off his questionable gaze; instead it seemed to get him more confused. He would have been able to answer if she asked him out on a date, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go to the bar with her to meet her coworkers.

"I'm buying." She said, tilting her head. Alcide now had nowhere to run, he could just say no but the look of disappointment, let alone the stupidity of turning down a free drink was too much for him.

"I would be stupid to turn that down wouldn't I?" He chuckled looking to Carla who smiled at his very lame acceptance. She had a feeling he would come, and now she couldn't wait to see the look on Jason's face when she showed up with another man.

"Yes, yes you would be." She stated watching Alcide pick up his shovel. With a free hand he pushed himself out of the hole and dusted himself off.

"Just let me jump in the shower." Carla nodded her head; she didn't want Alcide going to the bar all hot and sweaty. Although the sight would be nice, she didn't want the smell. Or the other women prowling around, she frowned at the thoughts that were occurring in her head.

It only took Alcide 15 minutes to shower and change and when he came out of his house his hair was still damp. His skin was still slightly flushed from the hotness of his shower. He was wearing a red checkered shirt, and blue jeans. Carla assumed at that moment it was the only type of clothing he wore. It oddly suited him.

Their car ride to Merlotte's was relatively silent and the only conversation they had was when Carla teased him. She had shown him how the lights had worked in the car and told him that as excited as he was to see her flick them on he wasn't allowed to play with her buttons. The very idea of her explaining to him how the lights worked made him laugh, and it made him wonder how often she explained this to children.

They both pulled up into Merlotte's parking lot, parking the car under a wispy tree in the far back of the parking lot. Most people would have thought the idea was very stupid, but not very many psychopaths attempted to kill a cop, let alone a cop walking around with a large man.

Like most nights Merlotte's was next to full, and the waitresses weaved in and out of tables ignoring the sneers customers were giving them. Carla knew this was the trouble with moving to a town like this, people always thought they were above others because there was simply nothing better to do.

Her eyes quickly scanned the bar looking for the small cluster of co-workers and she found them all crowed at a rounded table on the far right side of the bar. None of them had noticed her yet so when she ushered Alcide to follow her, he didn't really know where he was going. It wasn't until the two reached the table that they were noticed.

Grabbing two empty chairs at a table beside them they squeezed the chairs as best as possible into the tight ring. A look of confusion crossed Jason's face when he saw Alcide and he had raised both his hands in question. Then without thinking he blurted out, "I thought I said to bring a cute friend?"

"Aww, that wasn't very nice Jason! I happen to think Alcide is very cute." Jason almost choked when he realized what had happened. Carla had invited someone she thought was cute and not someone he would think was cute. Alcide could feel the heat rising to his face, although thankfully no one noticed.

"Alcide this is Jason, Andy and Kenya." She said pointing to each individual at the table. They all gave a respectable nod and continued on with their beers, and food.

"So is Kevin coming?" Carla asked, Alcide tried to not feel the awkwardness creep up on him. He had no idea who these people were, and he was now starting to think agreeing to come with Carla was a bad idea.

"No that boy would rather go home to his Mama." Andy spat, placing his beer to his mouth and taking a long swig. Carla twisted her mouth in irritation, not liking the way Andy spoke of Kevin. She thought the boy was a little awkward, but had a good heart.

"Well, I'd rather be drinking a beer." She snapped waving her hand above her head to summon a waitress. Within seconds Alcide and Carla had their own beers, both silently watching the drama unfold. Jason was explaining that there seemed to be a new rise of vampires in the area, and everyone at the table but Carla seemed to understand that this had something to do with the pretty blonde waitress named Sookie.

There was a silence that overhung the table just as Jason finished his story. Carla took this as appropriate time to check the small delicate silver watch on her wrist. Alcide caught the action, and although it was insignificant it stuck more in his mind more than any story anyone at the table could tell him.

"I think it's time to head home, but I have to go to the bathroom first." Her blue eyes looked up at him, to ask if that was alright. He nodded his head placing his empty beer on the table. A shy smile came from Carla as she pushed herself out from table and squeezed between the chairs. They were sure Carla was the only one at the table who could have squeezed through such a small area.

It wasn't a surprise to any of the men at the table when Kenya stood up and silently followed after Carla. As men they had all learned that women traveled in packs, epically when they wanted to talk about something they didn't want the boys to hear.

Carla pushed the bathroom door open, ignoring the heaviness. It always seemed to take the breath out of her and remind her she needed to go to the gym more often. She headed to the first stall that was open, ignoring the other two that sat happily beside it. She only had enough time to close the door and drop her pants when Kenya walked in behind her.

Kenya crossed her arms and leaned against the sink waiting for her friend to come out of the toilet. When Carla flushed and stepped out Kenya gave her a questioning look. A smile spread across Carla's face and she almost began laughing.

"What?" She chuckled running her hands under the cold tap water.

"Don't what me girl! What's with the looks you've been giving Alcide?" Kenya watched as Carla's face flushed pink. Shaking her head, Carla dried her hands with a coarse piece of paper beside the mirror.

"I haven't been giving him looks!" Carla defended crumpling the paper in her hands and tossing it in the garbage. Placing her hands on her hips she tried to ignore the disapproving look from her friend.

"You have it so bad you don't even know!" Kenya snapped pushing past her to walk out the door. Carla laughed following after her. She narrowly avoided the door swinging back and hitting her in the bottom but before Kenya could reach the main floor of the diner Carla stopped her grabbing her arm.

"Hey, what are you talking about? I got what bad?" Carla crossed her arms, and watched Kenya roll her eyes in irritation.

"Your crush on your boyfriend!" she said loudly, Carla cringed. Of course she meant Alcide, but he was not her boyfriend. Carla was very aware of how attractive Alcide was, but she didn't think any kind of romantic relationship would work between them. She was just the annoying girl across the street that asked too many questions about werewolfs.

Without warning a woman with blonde hair stopped beside them, she had a big toothy grin on her face. Carla had recognized her from around the restaurant, and also as Jason's sister. He seemed to never shut up about her, which Carla found cute. She never had any brothers or sisters so she never had someone to share her childhood with.

"I knew it! You too are just too cute together! Congratulations, Alcide is a really great guy and I can tell you're perfect for him!" The next thing Carla knew the bouncy young woman had almost skipped over to the table and started to congratulate Alcide on his new catch, and how she was much better then Debbie.

Alcide seemed completely confused about what was happening and asked Sookie what she was talking about. Carla stood absolutely stunned Sookie cheerfully boasted, "Well Carla of course!"

It was then Alcide turned his eyes to look at Carla, her cheeks burning brightly pink with embarrassment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you , and whiteanddark for the reviews! I love hearing from people!**

* * *

Carla carefully eyed the calendar; she held a pen to her lips as she carefully thought out the next few days. Her body was acting strange, and the only reason she determine why was it had been a very long time since she had shifted. She noted that she was two weeks away from the next full moon, and the large gap in time just couldn't cut it for her.

Usually she marked a few days on the calendar as run days, but since moving she had forgotten her ritual. The very idea of secdualing a run was absurd to Alcide because he always ran when he felt the urge. Unless it was a pack run, pack runs were always planned.

Carla simply explained to him that if she didn't write it down she forgot. She had once put off a shift for so long that her wolf had taken over and not being able to open a door tore apart the entire house. It had cost her thousands of dollars, and she ended up eating raw noodles for a very long time.

This way she never neglected a shift until her wolf took over, but there was the odd time that she needed to shift regardless of what was going on. Those were usually nights she stripped naked at her front door and went.

She had noticed this behaviour was more common now that she lived across from Alcide. There was something about another wolf nearby that made her want to run wild day and night. The more the day progressed the stronger the urge was. She wanted to ask Alcide to go on a run with her, but she had refused to talk to him after the bar.

She didn't know what to say to him, so she was avoiding him until she could think of something clever to say to him. She had assured herself that she was being stupid, and that lots of people were mistaken as couples. But then there was that nagging tug in her stomach where she wanted Alcide to like her. This idea, she told herself, was stupid.

A wafting smell drifted in her nose and she closed her eyes trying to gain composure over herself. She had never smelt such a thing in her life, and it terrified her. The sent was musky, strong, and poured into her house. The previous conversation she had with Alcide weeks ago about being able to tell the difference between species by their smells came back to her.

Although she had been practicing by herself and was really poor at it, she knew that there was more than one male werewolf walking up her porch. It was the only way for her to explain why the sent was so over powering to her.

She had thought about hiding, but she had already been caught standing in her home. A man older than her peeked into her house through the front screen door. She decided at that moment that she needed to get central air, because so far the screens hadn't been helping her. Lucy would like central air.

"Well hello there, sorry to interrupt!" He boasted standing at her door with a grin. There was three men with him, and they each leaned up against the porch railing watching their leader smirking. It was like they were all in on some big joke that Carla was unaware of.

Run.

She suddenly had the urge to run. She needed to get away from these men because there was something wrong with them. She could almost smell it, and she could tell by the way they walked. She was trained to know these things and she knew regardless if they were werewolf or not, their actions weren't normal.

"Can I help you?" Carla asked, she refused to move from her spot, and she slowly counted four men. The leader, chuckled and tilted his head.

"My name is JD, I'm the pack leader around these parts." He said, he rested his arm on the door frame and chewed his inner cheek. Carla could feel her heart beating like mad, she didn't know how she could get out of this one. There was no way she could out run three men, let alone three men who were werewolves.

"Oh?" she said, her response caused a small chuckle of laughter between the three men standing behind JD and when her eyes flickered over to them they all stopped. She was smart enough to know that they were whispering about her, because their eyes were firmly attached to her.

"Well it is customary for a wolf who enters another territory to present themselves to the pack leader, but I figured you were so busy moving in that it would be easier for me to come to you." Everyone knew he was lying. Carla had no intention of introducing herself because she didn't know that it was necessary for her to do that. JD had assumed she had no intention on showing up, and that's all he needed to justify his actions.

The need to protect herself was still strong, she had to lie to these men. To tell them she had no idea, and that she had never been in a pack would be dangerous. These men were not like her neighbor across the street; they would take advantage of her, lie to her and manipulate her. They could get away with it too because she would have been none the wiser.

"Sorry about that, between work and moving I havn't had the time." JD nodded his head as if her answer was acceptable but they all knew it wasn't. With his free hand he wiped the corner of his mouth, she had seen people do it before. They always did it right before they said something that upset her.

"We have a run in a couple of weeks you…" Carla suddenly cut him off, she hated the feeling of being talked down to. She didn't like this man, or the way the other three were looking at her. She had never in her life seen men so obviously hide their lustful eyes from her.

"Look. I'm sorry but I'm not interested in joining a pack. I'm happy with the way things are, so if you and your friends could please leave it would be much appreciated." A frown instantly fell on JD's face, and the men behind him were silent. The smirks they had on their face only moments before gone.

"See, I don't like that, especially when you're shacking up with that prick across the street." He had caught her off guard, she had no idea why he thought that and at the moment she didn't really care. Her insides burned as she felt her wolf try to escape. She wanted to rip him apart, but even if doing so would make her feel better, much better. There was no way she could clean up his body.

She took eight long strides across the room and slammed the door shut. She could hear the force of the door squeak the screen door, on the other side.

Then as if she were mad she started to rip off her clothing as her body involuntarily shifted, she was lucky she had made it too the back door in time to slip out into the yard or she would have ripped through the screen.

The feeling of being on four legs was phenomenal for her but the shift alone wasn't enough to get rid of her anger. It took 4 whole hours of her peeing on objects, rolling around in dirt, ripping apart squirrels, and chasing rabbits to calm down.

Lying on her back she twisted her body to rub her sent more into the ground then she thought was ever possible. She had seen Bruce do the same thing on Alcide's front lawn, and had known it was something she had taught him.

Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she panted heavily the night's activities finally catching up with her. She could see small puffs of air escape her mouth, and the cold air nip at her sensitive dog toes. With a jerk of her body she flipped herself over and her pearly white teeth started to gnaw at her leg.

She was so busy that she hadn't noticed a small dog jump into the clearing. He tried to stop himself at the last second skidding across the ground. He hadn't intended to get that close to a werewolf, but he didn't see her until after he jumped over a log. The dirt was loose on the ground so instead of stopping he kicked piles of dirt at the wolf and landed only inches from her.

Carla shocked that her face was suddenly filled with dirt stood up and started sneezing, when that failed she used both paws to try and pry the dirt from her face. The small collie that had ran into her stood still, he wasn't sure if he should run. He was positive that she would catch up with him if he did.

Carla inhaled deeply when she was finished and the scent of Sam Merlotte filled her lungs. She could determine that it was him from anywhere; she had after all used him in her smelling experiments. She would walk into the diner and try to pick out his sent amongst everyone in the bar. It was hard at first but now she could pick his sent up easily. She was now working on being able to pick out humans by their sent.

Her eyes rolled over the small dog, and for a moment she was silently. She had never seen Sam shifted before, and she honestly didn't believe that Sam could shift at all. Sam watched her with untrusting eyes, she was positive he had figured out who she was, just not what she would do.

An idea formed in her head. Werewolves lived in packs; this meant they ran in packs. She had never ran in the woods with someone else, sure she ran with her dogs but to her that was a chore. She had to keep a keen eye on them so they wouldn't run off.

Jumping forward she nipped at Sam's side. He stiffened at first not knowing how to take her interaction, but when she crouched down, her bottom in the air he knew she was trying to play. The very idea of someone wanting to run with him excited him, he was known as a freak amongst his friends and none of them really understood what he was. It would be nice to have a friend who had some kind of understanding. Sam lunged forward nipping at her side, a playful growl rattling in his chest. Then with that they were off they zipped in-between trees nipping at each other's sides.

* * *

"I'm surprised you're out here alone, usually weres travel in packs." He said softly, he tried to warm his body up by rubbing his upper arms with his hand. Carla kept her eyes glued to his eye level; she didn't want to accidentally see anything.

"I don't belong to a pack." Sam had given her a strange look. Uncomfortable she turned her attention to her feet. Her feet were black with dirt and not that it was ever a problem. As a child she had been taught to keep a container of baby wipes around to clean hands and feet. But tonight she figured that she needed to shower.

"I didn't even know other's existed until I met Alcide, hell I didn't even know there was such things as shifters." She burst, it had made Sam chuckle. Most people didn't know about shifters. It was funny to him because he had infact met other shifters and the first time he ever met a shifter his reaction had been the same.

"Alcide is a good guy, but how could you not know that you weren't the only one?" His stomach churned when he saw a look cross her face. She silently used her hand to push the soil off her feet and for a moment Sam didn't think she was going to respond to him.

"I lived with my biological Grandmother until I was seized from the state at 15." Carla could feel her lungs wavering, talking about her childhood was painful for her. She didn't have a horrible childhood, but she had a horrible adolescence.

"The first time I shifted in front of my adopted mother she packed up and moved the entire family and left me behind." He could vividly remember coming home to an empty house and his bedroom left untouched. The feeling never left him, and for a long time it left him hungry for something.

"Jesus." Clara muttered shaking her head.

"When I first shifted it was during dinner. I was so hungry I jumped on the table and ate just about everything in my sight." She and Sam both laughed at the vision. A small wolf pup jumping on the table and eating everything while family members stood on the side lines stunned.

"The next night my grandmother took me to the middle of the forest and beat the living daylights out of me. She said it was to get this demon inside of me out." A painful silence hung between the two and Sam was stunned. He didn't know what to say, his parents abandoning him was painful but they had never laid a hand on him.

"You know what's funny? I can remember the smell of the soil and the sound of the leaves when it happened. It sounded like rushing water." Carla's voice drifted off, he understood what she was saying. When his parents packed up his home he remembered the smell of his room when he opened the door. The hot sticky air, and smell of dirty laundry.

"What happened after that?" that nagging feeling of needing to know was in his chest.

"I don't remember, I woke up in the hospital months later and was told a group of hikers found me." Carla began to play with her feet again, and Sam could feel the Goosebumps raise on his skin. He had lived through the same experience, but it was never by a loved one or someone he trusted. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"That's horrible." Sam mumbled, a soft smile spread across her face and she tilted her head to look at him.

"You're not the first one to say that, but the truth is I'm okay now, I survived, and that's the only thing that matters." Sam couldn't help but smile back, she was right. She was one of the very few people who could truly understand what it meant to be a survivor, to live most of their life without family, and to come out of a nasty situation okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Didn't really get a lot of reviews last time, but thank you anyway Whiteanddark for the review.**

* * *

"No Sam! That movie sucked, you don't know what you're talking about." Sam laughed at the sight of Carla's face, she almost seemed serious but he knew she was joking. Sam had asked her to watch a movie with him a few nights ago and she had agreed in a heartbeat.

He would never of imagined that one day he would become good friends with a Werewolf. She pushed the remainder of her peas around on the plate in front of her. She hated peas, but today she was hungry enough to eat them regardless. Sam could tell something was eating away at her, she didn't seem to be completely and totally there with him.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, when Carla sighed and pushed her plate across the table, her fork clattering loudly as it hit the ceramic plate. Sam could feel his heart jump to his chest. He was waiting for Carla to say something horrid about him, something about how they couldn't be friends. It was after all expected, supes didn't get along and it was ridiculous to believe that they would.

"Do you remember that guy JD I was telling you about?" She asked, she reached across the table and stole some fries off his plate. A sense of relief washed over Sam and he silently cursed at himself for thinking too much. Carla chewed on her stolen fry silently, her eye brows etched together.

"The pack master of Shreveport?" he asked confused as to why she would bring him up. She had mentioned weeks ago that JD had shown up at her home with a group of men. They had tried to convince her to join their pack and had done a poor job at it. She slammed the door in their face after they had accused her of sleeping with Alcide.

"Yeah, he showed up again last night." Sam shifted in his seat uncomfortably, he had heard rumors of the new Shreveport pack master and if he was harassing Carla she could be in danger. This was after all the pack that had killed his brother, if he could help it Carla wouldn't have anything to do with them.

"He wanted you to join? What did you do?" Sam tried to ignore the bubbling rage in his stomach; if Alcide had taken the pack when he should have they wouldn't have to deal with this. It was bad enough that the vampires were up to something. They were always up to something.

"I told him if he didn't get off my property I'd shoot him." She plucked another fry off his plate and slowly chewed on it. Her answer wasn't good enough for him and he leaned forward a bit so prying ears couldn't hear him.

"What are you going to do if he keeps bothering you? You can't honestly expect a person like that to just leave you alone?" Carla chewed the remainder of her fry carefully before swallowing.

"I'll have him arrested and charged with trespassing, then get a restraining order." She said firmly, the seriousness that crossed her blue eyes was enough for him but somehow the idea didn't make him feel like she would be safe. The very idea of JD coming to her home in the form of a wolf popped in his head, then how would she keep him away?

"Sam, don't worry about me. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself." She smiled at him softly, it was impossible not to see the worry that crossed his face. She wanted to yell at him, tell him to stop worrying so much, but didn't want to draw any more attention to herself. People were already staring that they were eating together.

"So have you talked to Alcide?" He asked, he didn't know what was going on between the two. But he assumed they were friends, very strange friends. Sam had told her more than once that if she wasn't going to join a pack that she should at least befriend Alcide.

He had told her about how great of a guy he was, and how he helped him not too long ago. He wouldn't tell her that he helped him kill the man that killed his brother. In fact he couldn't tell her, she was bound by law to report it, but when she never asked what Alcide had helped him with he knew that he was safe to keep his secret.

"Ah, I asked him if he was willing to let Lucy out during his lunch breaks. That's about it." She said, the conversation never really happened, so when Sam gave her a questioning look she broke.

"Okay I wrote a note, and left it on his door. But Lucy hasn't peed in the house." Carla scrunched her face up irritated that Sam had broken her so easily. She knew Sam was going to scold her because he had done so every time they brought up Alcide.

"Carla, you really need to talk with him! It's not normal for a werewolf to be on their own! I'm surprised that you've made it this far! But you're going to go crazy with him living across the street and having no contact at all!" Carla rolled her eyes as Sam nagged her, she knew he was right but she still didn't like being mothered.

At first she had brushed him off, but when she realised that her body was starting to change she became worried. She had this urge to walk across the street sometimes and see Alcide, and although she had repressed the urge so far, she wasn't sure it would last much longer. She couldn't fathom how stupid she would seem just knocking on his door for no reason.

"Look I promise I'll talk to him, but you have to leave me alone about it. You're stressing me out!" she groaned leaning back in the booth. She used a hand to cover her face and the other arm rested under her breasts.

"You and I both know if I don't keep bothering you, you won't talk to him." Sam chuckled, Carla groaned in response pulling her hand away from her throbbing head.

"It's a full moon tonight." He said softly, Carla hadn't realised that her attention had drifted. She was watching Sookie serve a large man on the other side of the room before walking off to grab more plates. Carla had only talked to the woman once, and it wasn't even a real conversation because she ran off to congratulate Alcide on their imaginary relationship.

"Yeah, I would say I forgot but it is gnawing at me like crazy." Carla ripped her eyes away from Sookie.

"You should ask Alcide to join you." Sam smirked; she needed to have this run tonight, if she ignored it she would have to replace her house. She had learned her lesson the first time and didn't want it to ever happen again. But that didn't mean she wanted to run with Alcide.

"You're not playing fair, I'm going home!" Sam laughed loudly as Carla slipped out of the booth; she snatched her jacket and eyed him spitefully. Sam continued to laugh loving every moment of it. She quickly flipped him the middle finger before leaving the diner.

* * *

He wasn't disappointed that he wouldn't run with Carla that night, because he already had plans with Luna. Luna harbored a strong dislike for Carla, even though she had never met her. Luna firmly believed no single woman had business with a taken man. Sam had tried to tell Luna that they were simply just friends, but for some reason Luna didn't want to believe it.

Carla had been left as a dangerous topic in their relationship, so they avoided it at all cost. So when Sam showed up with the scent of Carla clinging to his clothing she frowned, but dared not speak about it. She simply stripped down and shifted into a small black dog, Sam silently following behind.

Sam never missed a run on a full moon, it was impossible; he needed it like he needed air. All supers that shifted into animals were like that, so they all had to be extremely careful when they were out in the woods. It wasn't uncommon to run into someone else, and it was even more common to get into some kind of brawl.

But the worst to run into was the wears. They ran in packs, and they were all strangely connected. If one wolf got heated up, the others would too. So it was always maximum priority to stay away from them, because there would be no escaping from a pack.

Sam skittered to a stop when he saw Luna had stopped; he could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest. It was at this moment he heard the soft whimpers of a woman, and his eyes drifted towards the source.

He had never in his life seen what he was looking at and for a brief moment he didn't know what he should do. He involuntarily shifted, he was just about to step forward when Luna stopped him, grabbing his arm with such force that he could feel it start to bruise.

"Don't, if you go in there he will rip you apart." Luna tugged on him again, Sam was distressed and she understood that because no shifter could understand what they were watching. It did look as horrible as it sounded. The only thing he could think about was that it was Carla pinned under Alcide whimpering.

"But he's hurting her, I have to help her." He tried to pull away from Luna but she held on tight.

"Sam, their mating and if you go in there it will be worse for her then it already looks. If you want to help her then don't get involved, because he will take care of her when their done." Her words didn't seem to be fitting into his head it was like she was speaking another language.

Running his hands through his hair, he tried to process what she was saying. But he wanted more than anything to save Carla.

"Look, in order for this to have happened she had to have been willing. It's no different than wolfs picking mates in the wild. I know it looks brutal, but when it's over she will be okay. I've seen if before, trust me. But if you walk in there now, he will protect her, and he will try to kill you." Sam finally turned to look at Luna, her grip was still tight on his arm and just by the look on her face alone he trusted what she was saying, because if he were to walk away from this and it wasn't what she was telling him it was he would never forgive her, or himself.

Nodding his head, he shifted into the small collie and trotted off silently behind Luna who kept a close eye on him. The last thing she wanted was for him to go running out towards the couple and get them both killed. She had to be careful around such things because she had someone counting on her at home.

* * *

When Carla didn't show up at Merlotte's for her routine bagel and coffee, the following morning, Sam begun to worry. It was unlike her to not show up; in fact he couldn't remember a time where she hadn't popped in at some point during the day.

He silently waited for his shift to be over because the last thing he wanted to do was storm out of work and people to talk. Then his little slip would have gotten around to Luna, and he didn't want another fight like the one that had occurred last night.

Luna had told Sam that he was to stay away from Carla. She didn't want him anywhere near the woman. Sam didn't want to stop being friends with Carla and he figured that as soon as Luna met her she would understand what their relationship was like. There was nothing about them that attracted them to each other. They were more like brother and sister.

When his shift was over he slipped away and made a long journey to Carla's house. He had only been there on a few occasions, and they were always before they went on a run. The house was oddly silent even though he could see other people in their front lawns.

Making his way up the front porch he noticed a few things. The first was the screen door was slightly open, someone hadn't closed it all the way and it was stuck on the small spring loaded latch that held it closed. The second thing he noticed was the muddy floor and small splatters of blood. He wanted to call out to Carla but he wasn't sure if it was a smart idea.

Instead he peeled the door open and slipped in, and started to study his surroundings. A few things in the living room were toppled over and in the corner of the room sat two dogs who curiously looked up at him. He pressed a finger to his lips and shushed the dogs, to anyone else it would have been pointless but the dogs seemed to understand.

Pressing on through the house he followed the trail until he reached the master bedroom upstairs. The door was only slightly ajar and fear coursed through his veins. He softly called out to Carla and with two fingers carefully pushed it open. He only pushed it open enough to see what was going on inside.

On the bed was two wolfs, the first was completely white, larger and obviously Alcide. The second wolf (which was Carla) was mostly grey with white accents. Carla was lying on her stomach, Alcide beside her licking her face. Carla's bed sheets were swirling around the couple, the once white sheets dirty. When the sound of the creaking door disrupted the two, they both looked up. Carla remained unmoving where Alcide started to snarl his eyes glowing brightly.

Alcide launched himself off the bed and towards the door that Sam slammed shut just seconds before Alcide reached it. The loud bangs, growls and snapping of jowls could be heard clearly from the other side as he tried to reach Sam. The door was starting to crack under the pressure before Sam decided it was time to get out of the house.

Luna had been right, Alcide had been taking care of her and now that he had seen she was okay wasn't going to step back into her home until he was sure both she and Alcide were both in their right minds.

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**Please remember to review if you want the story to be continued. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you, ILuvOdie, AnimeOtakuBara, Baloo18, leteverythingsparkle, Bigshihtzu, whiteanddark, Angelkeyla93, and dog88 for the reviews. :)**

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Pain was the first thing that Carla noticed, followed by something cold and wet around her hips. She had been in worse pain in her life, but waking up to it wasn't pleasant. She tried to open her eyes and sit up when a hand gently pushed her down. The hand was much larger than her own, warm, and was somehow comforting to her, but she had no idea who it belonged to.

"You shouldn't move." The voice came as a surprise to her, and as she tried to gain control of her blurry vision she searched for his face. Everything was slowly coming together and she squinted her eyes as she tried to see more.

Around her hips was a couple bags of frozen vegetables, they were slowly melting so that explained to her why her hips felt like they were in melting snow. The bed moved beside her and her eyes flickered up to see Alcide. He was wearing a pair of sweat pants, which was a lot more than what she was wearing.

Suddenly she felt panic rush to her chest; she could feel the collection of tears in her eyes and her face heat up. She didn't understand what was going on, and it scared her. It wasn't normal for someone to wake up naked, with frozen peas around their waste and their neighbor half naked in their room.

"Alcide what's going on?" Watching Carla cry made him feel like a horrible person. Partly because she didn't understand what was going on and explaining it to her would be hard. There were many things she didn't understand about their culture that he now had to explain. But first his desire and need to comfort her was overwhelming.

With a careful hand he ran his hand along her jaw line and pushed the messy curls away from her face. She instantly started to calm down, and that feeling he had before of being a horrible person resurfaced.

"You need to rest more; I'll tell you what's going on later. I promise." Normally a person would have fought him, and demanded that he told them what was going on at that moment. But Carla was still under the effects of what happened days prior, and she would be for a little longer.

Both parties usually came out of mating rituals perfectly okay, but the females always took a little longer to come around. Especially if they had mated with an Alpha male, which Carla had the even more misfortune. Too tired to argue Carla nodded her head and laid back down in her bed.

Alcide had done his job and taken care of her, good care and if this were a normal mating ritual she would have happily bragged to other members of the pack about how well he had taken care of her. He had covered her hips with frozen bags to keep the swelling and bruising down. He had also changed the bed sheets which required him to carefully move her body. He then grabbed a few wash cloths and gently cleaned every inch of her body.

But knowing she wouldn't understand what kind of bond they had created for a long time made him feel dirty, and like a bastard.

He silently watched her sleep, her breaths even and calm, much unlike himself. Running his hand through his hair he took a final look at her before walking out of the bedroom and firmly closing the door behind him.

He knew he should have stayed with Carla but he knew she would be asleep for a few hours and it gave him enough time to run out for a little while. She wouldn't wake up, he was surprised she had at all. Slipping on a shirt he rested over the arm of her couch, he checked everything in the house. He had cleaned just about everything and put everything where it belonged.

Then snatching her house keys he locked the door behind him and walked across the road to his truck. It took him about 20 minutes to get where he wanted to go, and the only reason it had taken him that much time was because he sped down the back roads. His bottom was a little sore when he pulled up in the small trailer park from going over pot holes so fast.

A few people peered out of their windows and when they saw who it was went back to their business. If Alcide were a stranger they would have all eyed him carefully. People around these parts didn't trust anyone new, because they usually brought trouble and trouble was what these people wanted to avoid.

Stepping up to the trailer he wanted, he swung the door open. The smell of sweat and dirty dishes flooded his nostrils. The only thing that registered through his mind was that the air conditioning system was broken and he would have to fix it before leaving.

Like always his father was laying on a small bed near the back of the trailer a beer in his hand, and the TV blasting some sports channel. His father had no need to look at his son; he knew who it was as the truck pulled into the front yard.

Like his normal ritual he yanked open the fridge and pulled out a beer. In one swift movement he had the bottle open and was drinking from the bottle casually. Silence hung over the room, as they both waited for the other to start a conversation.

"I picked a mate." Alcide finally broke the silence between the two. His father took a swig of beer as the words settled in his brain. Alcide had remembered having a similar conversation with his father about Debbie. Except that he had asked Debbie to marry him, not that they had mated.

Using his tongue to clean between his cheek and gums his father sat up on the bed to look at his son. He figured this day wouldn't come, and now that it had he was a bit speechless. If anything he would have expected his daughter to show up first with this news and not his son. Alcide was after all having a lot of women trouble.

"Debbie?" His father asked after the short silence. Alcide shook his head harshly, he wasn't that stupid. But he and Debbie had been on and off so often that he wasn't surprised that anyone would think that.

"Her name is Carla." He watched his father's face twist in thought as he tried to think of pack member's names or to even see if he remembered if she had been mentioned before. His mind came up with nothing so he simply turned his attention to the television.

"She's a lone wolf." Alcide announced, he knew his father didn't show he cared but somewhere deep down he was happy for his son. It was something all parents wanted for their child, and now his son was going to get what he deserved.

"She a nice girl?" he asked, Alcide nodded his head. He wasn't here to discuss what Carla was like, and when his father muttered 'good'. Then leaned back on his bed he knew the conversation wasn't going where he wanted it to.

Clearing his throat Alcide thought carefully about what he was going to say. "Carla knows nothing about what happened. Hell she didn't even know we ran in packs until I told her a few weeks ago." His father turned to look at him a look of irritation on his face. It would be his son to leave a drug addict then mate with a woman who knew next to nothing about being a werewolf.

"Well then, it's now your responsibility to teach her." His father snapped, slamming his empty beer on the table. Anger flared up in Alcide's chest, that was not the answer he was looking for. It was the best answer his father could give him, but he wanted another answer. A way out, or a way to make it better for Carla. Even though deep down, he didn't want to accept the fact that they were going to be stuck together for a long time.

"What, you don't like that answer? The only way to fix this problem, is step up and take responsibility." Alcide didn't speak and quietly finished his beer, the conversation was over and he knew what he had to do, but how he was going to do it was something totally different. He didn't know why he expected his father to be sympathetic with him, and give him the answers he wanted. He would have been better off going to his mother, but she was a longer distance away and he couldn't leave Carla alone for that long.

"So I guess this means you want me to meet her." His father wasn't at all interested in meeting Carla, and it was moments like this that the anger in his chest boiled so strongly that he wanted to lash out at his father. Watching his father toss a few sunflower seeds in his mouth, Alcide shook his head. He could have stood there and fight with his father but in the end it wouldn't change anything.

"At some point you're going to have to." Alcide said, His father spit his sunflower shells in a garbage can beside his bed. Although the sight was normal for him he couldn't help but stop thinking about what would Carla think of his father. It also made him wonder what her family was like.

"Well, you bring her over when she is ready." His father grunted, taking a final sip of his beer Alcide placed the empty glass container on the counter before walking out of the trailer.

* * *

It was dark when he returned to Carla's house, and when he unlocked the front door the dogs danced around his feet whimpering. He had forgotten to let them out when he left so the first thing he did was open the back door for them. They both happily ran out the door and onto the grass where they both did their business. When they both were finished they started to play with a couple of deflated balls in the yard so he figured it was safe to leave them alone.

He walked into the kitchen resting his arms on the counter tops. Carla's kitchen wasn't the best, and he could tell by the few magazines that she had laying around that she was looking into getting it redone. The counter was scratched up from previous owners and the tiles on the ground were permanently stained. Her cupboards were also cheap, and chipped, but for now it all worked until she decided to tear it all out.

His mind was now back on Carla who was still up stairs sleeping. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days, he slowly started to search her cupboards and fridge for something to feed her. He settled on chicken and rice his stomach suddenly craving the combination. Although the combination itself was boring, it tasted a million times better when he threw it together like his mother did. It always took a little bit longer but it was worth it.

By the time he was finished the dogs were at the screen door looking in with big sad eyes, both begging to have a share of the meal that wafted through the house. He had seen this coming so he was prepared with a small bowl for each of them.

He quickly ate his share of them meal before slowly making his way up stairs the dish firmly clasped in his hand. When he reached the master bedroom he quickly closed the door behind him to make sure the dogs couldn't follow. The last thing he wanted was them jumping on the bed with Carla's hips.

He was surprised to see her awake and the bags of pees on the floor. They would have completely thawed by now and rendered useless. She tiredly turned to look at him her blue eyes no longer blood shot like they were earlier. He gave her a soft smile before sitting down on the bed beside her, placing her plate on the nightstand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his hand pushed a few curls away from her cheek and instinctively she fluttered her eyes closed. It was nice to have some human contact after laying her bed for god knows how long.

"A lot better." She said after he pulled his hand away from her face. It made him feel a lot better about the situation and he silently checked her hips. He had seen worse, but the sight of his hands bruised into her hips disturbed him. At first they were a horrid black, and were swollen but the frozen peas had kept the swelling down. Her hips had changed from the black, to purple and a few other mismatched colours and the skin was no longer swollen.

He figured that in 48 hours her skin would be back to normal, and that she would be fully functioning. Werewolves were strangely very good healers, nothing compared to vampires but still very good. When he was finished he covered her hips back up with the light blanket she had used to cover herself, and then helped her sit up. He tried to ignore her cries in pain, failing at it horridly.

Then with a single hand he passed her the still hot dish and a fork and watched her eat. She had once told him that she was an incredibly picky eater, but he couldn't see it. She had eaten everything on the plate and when she was done placed the empty plate on her bedside table.

"Can you explain to me what happened now?" she asked, looking at him firmly. If anything he wanted to push the conversation away, and save it for another day, but she needed to know. If he waited things could only get worse, and then things would be even more complicated then they needed to be.

Running his hand through his hair, he carefully thought about what he was going to say. There was no way that he could prepare for this moment, and even if he could it still wouldn't be enough to explain to Carla. She waited silently for him to continue her blue eyes distracting him from what she needed to be told.

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**Please review! You have to understand that I'm nursing student! I spend a lot of time studying, and in class so reviewing makes me feel more obligated to write more. I will actually write if i feel people are reading/reviewing.**


	7. Chapter 7

I have so much stress its crazy...

Thank you Baloo18, leteverythingsparkle, NoMoreTears, and whiteanddark for the reviews. It doesn't seem like much, but when you spend a min of 6-10 hours a week studying it means the world.

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Somehow Alcide had managed to get Carla dressed, showered, and for the second time in the past few days changed her bedding. She slowly walked around her room and scrunched her face when she sat down her body still extremely sore. He was glad she took her time because it gave him time to think of what he was going to say. The only thing he wanted was to be able to explain to her what had happened and not get her upset.

Carla had chosen a pink pajama set; the pants were long and covered her feet. Whereas the tank top she was wearing was too tight, and allowed him to see her breasts through the fabric. He was sure she didn't know, because only moments before she was covering her body with a skillful hand. She settled down on her bed, her legs folded and back hunched. He took this as a sign she was ready for their conversation. He sat down on the bed carefully, trying to ignore her gaze.

"Do you remember anything last night?" he asked, he could clearly remember most of the events. The worst being when he first inhaled her sent, and how his body moved on auto pilot. He could then clearly recall how he approached her and how she allowed him to mount her. From there he could remember a few other things but there was huge gaps in time where he couldn't remember anything, but scents and feelings.

"I remember bits and pieces." For Carla it all happened too fast, and the more she thought about it the more she remembered. She had decided hours ago to stop thinking about it, because remembering the sharp sting between her legs and his hands held firmly on her hips was embarrassing enough, but they way she felt when he was there with her in the woods was worse. The strong feeling of want and need for Alcide at the time was unbearable, now made her feel horrible. The person who was in the woods with Alcide that night was not really her, but some animal trapped inside of her. If she were in her right mind she would have never of wanted this.

"Normally sometime after female weres get their first period, they start to release a pheromone that lets males know they are ready to mate. They will only release this pheromone once a year, and when males smell this they go crazy. It doesn't help that when this happens that the female is just as crazy, so what usually happens is males will fight over the female. This is why normally they keep females away from the pack when it's their…time." He watched Carla swallow harshly, she didn't know any of this but it explained a lot to her. It explained to her why she was so desperate some nights to go across the street to see Alcide, and it explained to her why sometimes in prior years she disappeared into the night searching for something.

"Usually it's planned, when two people want to be mates, but …" It was almost as if her brain put the final pieces into a puzzle. Her eyes went wide for a second and she felt herself sway and her stomach felt queasy.

"Oh god, are you trying to tell me we mated?" Her face was stuck between confusion and horror, she was screaming at herself for this not to be true and for it not to have happened. She didn't even know what this meant. She knew there was something different between them, she could feel it, it was almost as if she were lighter around him. Then there was the tug in her pelvic, the need and want of Alcide inside her. The very thought made her red. She had never thought like that about any man in her entire life.

Alcide clenched his jaw, but when she muttered out 'oh my god', he knew she understood his answer. Her mind reeled with information, most of which wasn't complete. She couldn't make the connections in her head that she wanted to, and it was starting to become very over whelming. She was almost on the verge of tears so she leaned her head back to stop them from escaping and to open her air way.

"What does this even mean?" She whimpered, her eyes were beginning to look glassy and she was trying to convince herself not to cry. She told herself that Alcide didn't want to see her cry, and that she looked ugly when the fat tears rolled down her face but it wasn't working. Her body needed her to deal with the current stress she was under and allowing herself not to would be more damaging if she held it in like she wanted to.

"Well it means a lot of things. We are connected, partners, among other things. We will feel the need to be with each other, take care of, and protect each other." Alcide knew there was more to it than that, but for now that's all she needed to know. She didn't need to know how highly respected it was for two people to mate, and how his family would boast with pride when they found out.

"Can it be undone?" She asked, running her fingers under her eyes. Alcide could feel his chest tighten, he expected her to ask something along those lines, and he knew she wouldn't like the answer.

"One of us has to die." Carla nodded her head, he felt horrible that she was stuck with him for the rest of her life. He was not the best mate a girl could have; he was after all at times still stuck on Debbie because he truly believed at one point that Debbie was his soul mate. She could go separate ways with him, but she would always feel empty if he wasn't around. This is why werewolves didn't usually mate, unless they were completely serious. He himself had only met a handful of mates in his life time that were completely happy. His grandparents were one of them.

"I guess it could have been worse, it could have been someone I didn't know…or JD." She said, she tried to laugh but there was nothing about this situation that was funny to her. Alcide flinched, he wasn't sure how she had known JD but she was right that she could have gotten a horrible mate. She could have gotten a man who would beat her or one who didn't care about her feelings at all. He had after all seen it, but things were about to get a lot more complicated for Carla and himself, but he promised himself that he would be there for her if she needed it or not.

Like his mother always said, "It takes two to tango."

"Carla." He said softly catching her blue eyes with his, "When two wolfs mate, unless there is something biologically wrong with one or both of the wolves, a pup is always produced." The words tasted funny in his mouth, and the buildup of saliva proved it. It was like when you ate something too sweet, and you tried to swallow it as much as possible to rid yourself of the taste.

Her face was pale, and he was sure for a moment that she was going to faint. If anything she was hoping that he would jump off the bed and yell that it was a joke and she had fallen for it. But it didn't happen.

"What?" she cried, she must have miss heard him. She could feel the panic start to build in her chest, this couldn't be right. She couldn't be in this situation right now.

"Carla, you are probably pregnant."

* * *

Carla very carefully asked Alcide to leave. He completely understood because he had sprung a lot on her, he had assured her that if she needed him that she could call him at any time and left his cell number on her fridge. It was difficult for him to leave, and he could feel his inner wolf fight it but some how he managed to scoot out the door. Both the dogs were sad to see him go, but he had a feeling they would see a lot more of him.

He wasn't surprised that Carla disappeared off the face of the planet for the next week. He kept a careful eye on her, he had noted that she left for work, came home, and let the dogs out. But that was all he ever really saw of her, he wanted nothing more than to walk across the street and see if she was okay, but he knew she needed time.

When his phone buzzed and he flipped it open, a single message was displayed on his screen and it made his heart jump in his chest. "Come over, please." He had just been microwaving a bowl of food, he realized there was really no time for him to eat it so he just hit the stop button on the device.

Alcide felt like slipping on his shoes was one of the longest moments in his life, it was worse than the time he had to wait in the principal's office for his father to pick him up after he had been in a fight on the school yard. The feeling was even worse when he realized it was raining out and that Carla was on her porch waiting for him. He would have loved to have taken his time but the rain forced him to run across the road. The steps creaked as his heavy feet walked up to her, he could feel her blue eyes on him. He hated the feeling of not knowing how to act around her, it made him feel vulnerable.

"Hey." He said running his hand through his hair, trying to get it as dry as possible. His shoulders were soaked, and so where his pant cuffs. He was sure he looked like a mess but when he watched Carla smile at him he knew his appearance was okay with her.

"Hey." Her response was soft, an almost whisper, it got his tongue all caught up in his mouth. He tried to compose himself and it was then he noticed a white bag in her lap. It had a pharmacy logo on the side that he could barely read, and he knew there could only be one thing in the bag.

"I don't think I can do it on my own." She said softly, she had noticed how his eyes bore into the bag and it made her stomach lurch. She never went to the doctors to see if she could or could not have children because she never had a need to. But there was something that nagged at her that she needed to see the results herself, to make what was happening to her a reality, because so far the only thing that had happened between them seemed to be words.

A deep sigh came from Alcide and he rubbed his face, trying to clear his mind and prepare himself for what he was going to have to deal with in a few moments. He nodded his head in agreement and watched her stand up. Before he knew it they were both sitting at a messy kitchen table, coffee's in their hands as they waited for three different tests sitting on the back of the toilet to tell them what they were pretty sure they already knew.

"So what are we going to do if I am, you know pregnant." The words were foreign to her, she had never planned on having children, and she didn't know the first thing about them, let alone giving birth. She was a police officer, not a nurse. Alcide's hand stopped scratching Bruce's head, and he rested it on the table his hand tired from the constant affection that the dog seemed to need.

"What do you want?" She asked, he hadn't realized he hadn't even answered her first question and she was nervously sitting at the table waiting for him to answer. She was nervously chewing her lip and looking at Lucy who was licking a bit of floor beside Carla's feet.

"Honestly? " He asked, he waited for Carla to nod her head before he continued. "If you are pregnant, I want us to have this baby." The word 'us', sounded so strange coming from his mouth, he of course wanted children but had put it off for a long time because of Debbie, and now that he had the chance he was going to take it. He was even willing to take the baby if Carla didn't want it.

"What about you?" he took a large gulp of the hot searing liquid, and ignored the painful burning down his throat. Carla tapped her fingers on the table for a few seconds as she thought she knew what she wanted but it was so strange to share it with a man she barely knew.

"Honestly?" she smiled using the same words he had earlier, "I've never had a family, I've never known what it was like to come home to someone who, needed you, or even just wanted you." She was silent for a moment, tilting her head as she thought; he dared not to interrupt her.

"I think, I would like to have that, the feeling like I have family even if it's just a tiny, screaming, crying, and pooping all the time." Alcide couldn't help but laugh at her expression. She had her face scrunched up in almost distaste but there was a smile deep down hidden underneath it all. He was surprised, that she would be happy to have a baby.

"I just don't want to be alone anymore." Then just like that they were both back to sitting in awkward silence. He had never thought of a baby like that before, a way to not be alone, and he guessed it was part of the reason why he suddenly wanted this child so bad.

"Be my girlfriend." He suddenly blurted out, he hadn't been watching Carla and he hadn't seen her take a sip of coffee, she spat the scolding liquid across the table and started to choke. He couldn't help himself and he started to blabber on.

"If it works out then the kid gets two parents in the same home, and not this half the weekend at my house then yours. But if it doesn't, it means we tried right?" He could feel himself starting to come up with stupider things to say and he knew he was only seconds away from saying it.

"Okay um but let's try the girlfriend thing first before we share a mortgage, lover boy." Carla spat shaking her hands to get the coffee off her. The table shifted when Lucy leaned up against it to lick the drops of coffee off the floor.

"I think we should check the results." Carla announced softly standing up from the table, Alcide following at her heals. It wasn't until she got to the door of the downstairs bathroom did she stop. He was confused for a brief moment before she turned and looked at him.

"I can't do it, I can't look…will you?" She chewed her bottom lip and shamefully looked away from him. She could shoot a gun, and she could take down a man twice her size, but she could not look at her own pregnancy test.

Slipping his warm hand against her face, she drew her attention back to him. Nodding his head, and gently kissing her forehead. He ignored that she almost melted into him, and quickly pulled away from her.

She couldn't look and she held her breath as Alcide fiddled around in the bathroom. She ignored the thought that popped up in her head that he was handling her pee. He came back out of the bathroom a few seconds later holding the little white stick in his hand.

He didn't look impressed, but at the same time he didn't look unimpressed. His eyes were glued to the stick; her stomach was twisting with anticipation until he looked up at her a crooked smile on his face.

"Congratulations, you're going to be a Mommy."

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Please remember to review! I'm Student with no life!


	8. Chapter 8

**Well I had the lovely misfortune of my computer crashing and I was very lucky to pull this story off my hard drive. So forgive me for not updating, since my computer was in the shop. Ive also been studying like mad for midterms. **

**Thank you, Lady Deadmau5, SamanthaWinchester7447, JeseniaFIR, leteverythinsparkle, x XRoweenaJAgustineX x, Baloo18, and ILuvOdie. **

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Carla thought getting ready for work Monday morning felt strange. She had officially missed over two weeks of work, and having to explain to her boss why she had suddenly disappeared for a few days was hard. She had lied and said that her grandmother had fallen in the home she was at and was rushed to the emergency room. She had been scolded for not letting them know earlier (not that she could in the state she was in) and was given a few weeks off to ensure that her grandmother was okay.

She used this time to get her mind straight and at first it was hard. It didn't seem like it was really happening to her and she constantly had to remind herself what was going on. First she was bonded for life as mates with Alcide and how he had awkwardly asked her to be his girlfriend.

It was obvious before that the two were attracted to each other, and now it was even stronger. The only way Carla could explain it was that before it was almost like a crush on each other, and now it was like they were soul mates. They lusted and craved each other's attention and it made it hard for her to get to know Alcide.

They had tried to refrain from more sex, since Carla had clearly not enjoyed it the first time but being around each other made them like little rabbits. The urges were always there, but like hot flashes they became so strong that she would blink then suddenly she was under Alcide. Alcide assured her that they would calm down when their inner wolfs were completely satisfied that they both knew about their bond.

The second thing was she was indeed pregnant; she had even gone to the doctors to confirm what she already knew. She was only about two weeks along, but it was enough for him to give her a load of pamphlets and more appointments in the office then she would care to have. She refused to look at them and simply tossed them on the table, she had caught Alcide trying to look at them and shot him a look that challenged him to open one in front of her.

She didn't feel pregnant, if anything she could only feel the overpowering urge to be dominated by Alcide. It made her feel a little skanky. She was after all a virgin two weeks ago, and now she possibly had more sex then most people had in a year.

She finally had enough and standing naked in the kitchen she threw her hands above her head shouting, "That's it! I can't take it anymore! If I black out one more time I'll go crazy! I'm going back to work on Monday!"

Alcide stood pulling his pants up and rubbing his head in frustration. He had agreed, after all what was the point of sex if you didn't remember it half the time. Their wolves needed time apart, and he hoped that they would settle down. He thought that in a way it might be like reassuring a child his parents would return by forcing time apart.

This made Monday hard, and it took them both over an hour to make it out the front door. Alcide had almost caved in and stopped Carla from leaving. In a moment of clarity he grabbed her with half her uniform on and dragged her to the front porch where he locked her and Bruce out of the house. He had to walk away from the door clenching his jar and digging his fingers into his arm, the sharp pain reminding him that this is what they needed.

This moment made it clear to him that Carla was not as in control of her wolf as she thought she was. She stood at the door, half of her uniform on and a tank top, whimpering to be let back in for twenty minutes. She then got some sense over herself and jumped in her police car slightly humiliated.

Needless to say they were both late for work, Alcide even more than he expected because he couldn't leave the house with Carla whimpering on the front step. He knew if he tried to leave when she was on the front step they would still be home, humping like rabbits.

Alcide was irritated with himself when he pulled up to work, skidding his tires and sending clouds of dust in the air. It didn't go unnoticed by the men he worked with as they all stopped and watched him get out of his truck slamming the door behind him.

Alcide's father Jackson, spit on the ground before muttering to the men to get back to work. A few of the men shot him a dirty look, and those few men were of course werewolves that belonged to the pack that Jackson had been kicked out of many years ago.

It was never talked about amongst the men, and any kind of relationship they had with Jackson was rocky. These men of course had no problem with Alcide, but due to unfortunate events, strained their relationship. They had been told by their pack master to keep their relationship strictly professional, and by their law they had to listen to their pack master. Even if they all very badly wanted to go back to the way they were friends before.

These men would never say what was on their mind, because it could be punishable by death. But they had all wished Alcide had taken pack master and not JD. Things were worse since JD had taken over, and they all felt it was time they had a fair pack master and they believed this was Alcide. Alcide had after all provided them with jobs when they were out on their luck, and they were dam good jobs.

Jackson slammed his shovel in the ground and walked over to his son who was fumbling with his tools in the back of his truck. Jackson rested his arm on the searing hot edge of Alcide's black truck and watched his disheveled son. Usually Alcide's hair was in order as well as his clothes but today his shirt failed to be tucked in and his hair was sticking up in directions that made it look like he had just left bed and not his home.

"You're late." His father mumbled, a loud bang from the back of the truck let him know he had struck a nerve. Alcide passed his father shovels in hand and grunted in response. Their small interaction had caused the few other men to stir and silently watch in interest.

"How is the girl?" Jackson asked when Alcide stopped a few feet into the work sight. If the men weren't listening before they were now. Alcide felt his anger bubble, his father had never taken interest in Debbie and now he was asking about Carla.

"Fine!" he spat, shoving his shovel into the ground sending small clouds of dust onto his pants.

"Wait, what girl?" An older man asked, his hair was heavily peppered with gray and he was missing a few teeth. He went by the name of Red because his wolf was so red that he could never really blend in. He was about 57 years old, and at one time was really good friends with Jackson. Sometimes they still appeared to be.

"Alcide picked a mate." Jackson hollered, all werewolves working on the sight instantly came over, and the few humans who had no idea what was going on shared a look between each other in confusion. Almost in a rush of mumbles they all congratulated Alcide on his new accomplishment.

It had been a long time since he had been around so many wolves and he could slowly feel himself unwind. The feeling of pride started to set in, because it was something to be proud of. He had picked a mate, and although it didn't happen how it normally did, he had made a good pick. She would make a good mate, and mother to his pup.

"Is she with a pup?" Another man asked, as the other men started to settle down. The excitement was evident between the men, it would have been worse if it was a group of females. There was something about an addition to a pack that excited everyone in the ranks and for a moment Alcide had forgotten that he wasn't in a pack any more.

"Yes." Alcide gloated; there was a sudden slap on his back from his father and a mummer of congratulations from them men around him. He hadn't seen such a look on his father's face for a very long time and for a moment he was stunned. His father was proud of him.

"So about this lass, was it Debbie?" Red asked silencing the group of men. They were all very well aware of Debbie, and they all inwardly cringed at the thought. A woman like that shouldn't be a mother, let alone mated, at least not in her current predicament. They all held their breath waiting for Alcide to answer.

"No, no it wasn't Debbie. Her name is Carla."

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Carla suddenly felt the wave of tiredness hit her when she walked into Merlotte's on her lunch break. She silently swore that she was going to force Alcide to go to his own bed that night because although they usually slept through the night, last night he couldn't keep his hands off her. Their wolves had of course known what was going to happen the next morning, and although they were prepared to fight to be together all day they prepared just encase their human counterparts out smarted them.

The lunch rush had just started to die down, and when she stepped in she was instantly grabbed by the upper arm by Sam. He tugged her to the back of the diner and into his office where he slammed the door shut behind them tightly.

Carla was so confused about what was going on that she looked at him strangely when he started to check her over. His hands grabbed her face and Bruce shifted beside her uncomfortably not liking the way he was handling her.

Carla jerked away from him, "Sam what _are _you doing?" she asked her eyebrows knitted together. A deep sigh left his parted lips, and he ran a hand over his forehead. If only she knew what he had seen a few days ago, as well as what had happened in her house would she truly understand his worry.

"Last week, Luna and I saw you and Alcide in the …." Carla cut him off cursing, her face flaring red. She was so caught up in what she was going through that she never thought about if it was possible for someone else to have seen her and Alcide. Carla stood with her hand over her face completely embarrassed, if it wasn't bad enough someone had seen her, it had been Sam and his girlfriend.

"I went to check up on you a few days later but, Alcide tried to kill me when I tried to get close." It was bluntly obvious that Sam was okay, and still embarrassed over the situation.

"Is that why my door is broken?" she blurted out.

"Carla what the hell happened?" Sam snapped pulling her from her own little world. She was thinking about getting Alcide to fix the door since he was the one who had broken it. It would be nice to lock the dogs out of the room because some nights they both had stinky farts.

"I don't really know." Carla said, she seemed to understand it when Alcide explained it to her, but he knew way more than she did. She had no idea how to explain it to Sam.

"Luna said that you two were…mating." He swallowed the lump in his throat, Carla's face heated up red again and he knew he had hit home for her. She tilted her head and used her small hand to rub the back of her neck.

"Um yeah, that's pretty much what happened. I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around everything." She said softly, Sam could tell just by the way she was wording everything that she was holding out on more and the way she was avoiding his eyes proved his point.

"Everything?" he prodded, Carla was suddenly chewing her lip. The silence that hung between them was enough to make her burst and she did.

"I'm pregnant." Sam hissed when she blurted out her answer, his reaction made her feel horrible and she suddenly felt she had to leave. Her body instantly stiffened and Bruce stood up from where he was laying on the ground.

"Look I have to go, but I'm okay." She tried to assure Sam, she didn't really feel like she was okay at that moment and she wouldn't expect anyone to be. She had a lot to deal with, a lot of emotions, and now a baby to deal with. In time, she would be okay. Or at least she hoped. She had survived a lot worse, and that was something she kept telling herself.

She stepped out of the office before Sam could say anything else, and silently made her way to the cash. She hadn't even noticed that Arleen had taken her order until her small perfectly manicured hand grabbed her's. With her free hand she started to pat her hand, and it suddenly made Carla think of the moment when she was awake after the beating. A nurse was holding her hand her and patting it as her blurry words told her that everything was going to be okay.

Arleen's children would often show up at the diner, and they would always ask if they could play with Bruce. At first the red head had told her children to leave the dog alone until Carla had assured the woman that if she was off duty it was fine. It was only then that Arleen had started to talk to the small blonde woman, because Arleen needed to know if her children were safe around the new comer.

"Oh Darling I know that look!" She chimed, her face twisted in worry. Carla was very much confused with what was going on, and her brain wasn't making any connections on what was happening, until Arleen leaned forward and whispered. "You're pregnant!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Carla was on auto pilot and she walked straight from the cash to the door. She couldn't deal with those words, and yet it seemed to be the only thing anyone wanted to talk about. Pushing the heavy door she stepped out into the smoldering heat, Arleen chasing at her heals.

"Ohh! Hold on there darling, I didn't mean to upset you!" her southern twang hung heavily in the air. She held her hands up and stopped Carla from getting any further in the parking lot, she was too scared to touch the woman with the large dog that followed her around, and she wouldn't be stupid enough to even try it.

"I know you haven't known me very long, and you've been real kind letting my kids play with your dog. But what you're going through right now, I've been there darling and when I was there I would have wanted someone to tell me what I know now. That's it's gonna be okay, and that you're gonna be a great Mom. That's all I had to say!" Raising her hands in the air Arleen stepped out of her way. Carla's keys suddenly felt heavy in her hands.

"You promise?" the words had slipped out of her mouth; she hadn't even known she was thinking it. Her eyes were suddenly on Arleen who was nervously holding her hands to her mouth.

"It doesn't seem like it now, but the first time you get to hold that little creature in your arms it's like the heavens a line and you know everything will be okay." Carla nodded her head, she knew Arleen was speaking from experience. She did after all have three children, biting her lip Carla tucked Bruce into the car and drove off.

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**Please review!**

** Let me know if there is anything you might want to see in this story!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you X XRoweenaJAugustineX x, Kay1104, whiteanddark, SamanthaWinchester7447, ThatGirl54 and NoMoreTears for the reviews.**

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Their wolves had indeed calmed down, just like Alcide had said they would after about a week of normality. Work had been an added bonus for Alcide, constantly being appraised for his new accomplishments, where as Carla's had been hell.

Alcide had never known a police officer, so to see her go through the emotional turmoil over the cases she dealt with was painful. He wanted to make everything better for her, and he had tried. Not in the mood, and obviously under the stress of their new binding relationship she snapped at him.

He had backed off, his hands in the air defensively. He had never felt so unwanted before in his life, and even Debbie hadn't responded the way Carla did over something he had done for her. It had indeed hurt his feelings so he simply sat outside on the front porch with both dogs at his feet.

About an hour later Carla came out in her pajamas and he cringed preparing himself for a fight. But when she curled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist he stiffened. He wasn't sure what was happening until she mumbled she was sorry. In an instant, his muscles relaxed and his fingers entangled in her hair. Her body still felt stiff, but after a few minutes of his fingers rubbing her scalp she was completely relaxed. He then pocketed the idea for later.

This part of their relationship was hard; they were still discovering what made each other tick. Alcide had learned that unlike most people Carla required a lot of her own space when dealing with her own problems, and when she was ready she would come to him or would be approachable. He was very much the type of person to deal with the problem any way possible, and the sooner the better.

But regardless of her mood, he always showed up at her house after he finished work. She always left early in the morning, hours before he did and always seemed to be home before him. Somewhere during these hours she would take a long bath, and change into something comfortable. The smell of her bubble bath clung to her soft skin. She would be halfway through cooking dinner, or she would be scooping out two plates.

It had been a long time since he had been cooked meals on a regular basis so no matter what she made, he ate it without complaint and there was always a lot to eat.

As part of their nightly ritual, he would touch her. The need to know she existed strong and it always calmed his inner wolf. Usually he simply ran his hand along her exposed back grabbing her hip to pull her into him, a deep growl in his throat. Then other times he would run a hand along her flat tummy, reminding himself of the life that was growing inside. If he were lucky and surprised her, she would squeal.

Coming home twenty minutes late, he pulled into her driveway and shut the car off. He barely noticed a couple across the street lean towards each other and whisper their eyes stuck on him. This was the same couple that came over with a plate of cookies when he had adorned Debbie to inquire it everything was all right. It didn't take long for news to spread that his fiancé no longer lived there.

He couldn't help but think about how they were snoopy bastards. He had half a mind to go over to them and tell them that yes, he and Carla were screwing like rabbits. Except with a lot more colourful vocabulary, and when they sat stunned by his outburst he would tell them about how she was with his pup.

As much as he liked this idea he knew it was a bad one, and Carla didn't need any more stress. She put up a good front, but she was stressed about her job, the baby, and their relationship. She would sometimes find herself doing something extremely natural to a mated couple, and then would apologize profusely.

These were the moments where she buried her face in his chest and took a deep inhale of his sent. She would get lost in her own little world for a moment before pulling away her cheeks red. He had to assure her every time it was normal, and that he in fact did the same thing too. He had yet to tell her that her sent had begun to change, and that if she were in a pack many members of the pack (him included) would be sticking their noses up her hind end. So smelling his sent was normal, and the least of her worries.

There were also moments where she would groom him, and her hands would drift to his belt buckle. But in all she was slowly becoming accustomed to her own behaviour, and most of all his. At times he forgot that he needed to hold back, forgetting that this was all new to her. He would grab, groom, nip, guide, and smell her often.

Pushing the front screen door open he was greeted by Lucy who wagged her tail happily. He gave her a soft pat before kicking his shoes off. Bruce was sitting in the living room on the couch he had almost yelled at the dog knowing they weren't allowed on the furniture when he realised Bruce was watching something on the couch.

Curious he walked into the living room and to the opposite side of the couch. To his surprise Carla was laying on the couch a heating pad on her stomach and her arm over her face the unmistakeable stains of tears on her cheeks.

"Carla, Babe what's wrong?" his voice burst out of his chest louder then he intended, startled she jumped into a sitting position and looked around the room disorientated. He had known at that moment she had fallen asleep at some point and he had startled her awake.

Wiping the dried tears away from her face she stood up and quickly readjusted herself, she tried to ignore the look Alcide was giving her as she tried to continue on like nothing was wrong. She then tried to move around him and sneak out of the room before he grabbed her gently, pulling her back.

He had never seen her act in such a way, and he was extremely worried. He knew it was more than her having a bad day at work, if she was having a bad day at work there would be ice cream bar wrappers floating around the living room and dogs hiding upstairs.

"Babe, what's wrong you can tell me?" He didn't know how dangerous those words were until she exploded a hormonal rant on him that stunned him.

"I've been craving meat all day, but I can't stand in a room long enough to smell it cooking before I start puking my guts out. My boobs are sore; nothing tastes right, I can smell anything from a mile away, and I'm incredibly horny." Alcide carefully cleared his throat, and with gentle hands he grabbed her face, clearing her tears off her face with his calloused thumbs. He tried to ignore the last bit of information she shared with him, and figured he would address her other concerns before they got to that.

"Babe, those are all normal, I can't really help you with your boobs, or your nose. But if you want meat, ill cook you some meat, how does that sound?" she nodded her head and pulled her face away from his hands. He knew she was still overwhelmed with things so he pulled her into his chest wrapping his strong arms around her and kissing her forehead.

"I'll cook tonight, just tell me what you want." He muttered into her hair line, a sigh of relief passed her lips and her tiny hands grabbed his arms resting them in her own strange way of hugging him. She squirmed for a second trying to get comfortable before she answered.

"Stake." She mumbled into his chest, it felt good to be in his arms and Carla could slowly feel herself starting to wind down. She could never get over how at ease she was with him around, and at times it left her bewildered. It was crazy to her how easily her body would change when he was around, how even him just walking into the room could excite her. She still tried to tell herself it was too early in their relationship for any of those kinds of feelings, but yet she had them.

She was positive that if Alcide were to leave her side for more than a few hours that she would go crazy. The week she had refused to talk to him and tried to figure out things on her own had been hell. She acted more like an animal in her own home knowing he was across the street then a human. She couldn't handle it, and she finally gave up. It had taken every ounce of power she had not to jump him seeing him for the first time in many days, but in the end it didn't matter her wolf unhappy with the way things were going, took over. Alcide's other half was thinking the same thing. When both wolves were happy with Carla's and Alcide's understanding of the relationship they backed off a little.

Carla knew their relationship wasn't normal, they had only been together for a few weeks and they were already having sex regularly. It made her feel dirty some times, because sex with Alcide started to become moments where she was no longer under control of her animal self.

She would then tell herself that Alcide had already gotten her pregnant, and they were mates. There was no reason why she shouldn't have sex with him, and now that her hormones were starting to go wild she could justify her actions even more.

"What else do you want?" He asked, slowly trying to plan their meal in his head. He had at first thought about stake, potatoes, and corn on the cob all of which he could do on the barbeque in about a half an hour but when she shook her head and assured him that she _only _wanted stake he almost completely through the idea out the window.

He would just make whatever sides he wanted, and if she wanted some she could eat what little extras he made. They pulled away from each other sharing a small kiss, Carla then curled back up on the couch placing her heating pad on her stomach.

Tonight she would lay there until dinner was ready and maybe they would watch a movie, or they might just simply go to bed early. Carla was tired and extra sleep would be good for her, and he would be more than happy to curl up in bed with her. If he got bored he would just watch the television on low.

Alcide had finished cooking in record time, and silently dished out two plates. Although Carla had requested just meat, he had thrown some potatoes and corn on her plate. If she didn't eat them he wouldn't be offended he just wanted to make sure that she had the option. Slipping into the living room he handed her, her plate and sat down on the couch beside her.

They never ate in the living room, and he always assumed it was because she had a white couch. How she managed to keep it in such pristine condition with two dogs surprised him and with a child hovering around the house he knew it would never happen. The couch would be destroyed within minutes if little hands plastered anything on it.

He watched her in the corner of his eye peel the fat off the stake with her fingers skillfully handing it to each of the dogs, a look of pure disgust on her face. He had never seen her act like this before so he tried to hold the chuckle in his chest. She then poked around at her corn only clearing some of the meat, and corn from her plate.

Finished with his own plate he wiped his mouth with what Carla called Fancy Napkins, which was really just plain, old paper towels. He gently took her plate, taking the dishes to the sink where he placed them in carefully. Then in a swift movement tossed the paper towels in the garbage and made his way back to the living room.

Carla had stretched out on the couch her feet taking over his spot. Wanting to be near her he picked up her tiny feet with one hand and sat down placing her feet in his lap. It was then he noticed the slight swelling of her feet. It was faint but he could still tell she was uncomfortable. He figured it was the shoes she wore all day, as well as the imbalance of hormones in her body, because it was unusual for women's feet to swell this early in pregnancy.

He absent mindedly started to rub her sore ankles, ignoring the sigh that came from her lips. He had a lot on his mind, and although during the day he was good at putting the thoughts away, it was when he got home that the wheels started to turn.

Usually he thought about him and Carla, but then he would start to wonder to the baby and how they needed so many things and how he had to baby proof the home. He hadn't realized in his thoughts that Carla had pulled her feet from his lap and replaced herself, her mouth lightly treading kisses on his jaw and her hands at his belt.

His mind instantly snapped back to what she was saying before and not that he was complaining he shifted so they could have more access to each other's bodies. Her sent was overwhelming in his nose, it was sweet and the soft hint of her pregnancy tickled his nose. He could feel the rumble of possessiveness in his chest as he ran his hands up her torso. Her hands had found their way up his shirt when there was a knock at the door.

Both uncaring they ignored the quick rap before it echoed through the house a second time. Carla groaned out frustration, and tried to continue on with her plans. Then a third more impatient knock ruptured through the house, annoyed, angry and frustrated Carla pulled her mouth and hands away from Alcide running a hand through her messy hair.

He knew in the next few moments she was going to get extremely upset so he gave her a simple kiss and told her that he would answer the door. The last glimpse he caught of her, she was fixing her shirt and putting pillows back into their proper positions.

Alcide expected the person at the door to be a sales person, or even a group of religious converters, not his sister who squealed in excitement when she saw him through the screen door. Her squeal was so loud, and her banter about how happy she was for him could be heard in the living room. Both dogs curious came barreling towards the noise.

Through the chaos Alcide couldn't get a word in, and Janice let herself into the home. Alcide knew he couldn't get a word in otherwise, even if he could Janice wouldn't leave until she got what she wanted and judging by her banter she was here to see Carla.

He had to at least calm her down, before she rushed through the rest of the house. The last thing he wanted was Carla to be completely horrified by his sister and develop second thoughts about his family. Of course his plan never even rolled into action when Carla peeked around the wall catching the sharp eye of his sister. Then suddenly another squeal left her lips, and Carla was attacked by his sister.

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**Please Review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Nursing school takes up so much of my time! Thank you, Baloo18, whiteanddark, ThatGirl54 , and for the reviews. I wish I had more time to update, but school comes first! **

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Carla had somehow managed to get his sister to calm down long enough to talk like a normal human being. He had to keep his jaw clenched shut in disbelief, and tried to reassure himself that this wasn't some magical power she had. She was after all a police officer.

Janice sat at the kitchen table explaining to Carla where her next highlights should go, and even pulled her hair around on her head to show her, where she herself would have put them. She continued to explain that there was ammonia free dyes that she could use that would be perfectly okay to use when she was pregnant.

When she was done she sat back down at the table and continued to blabber on. Alcide could feel his face flush when Janice for the third time, told Carla how adorable she was, and how happy she was that Alcide had finally found a girl. Then to be more direct slipped a comment out about how she wasn't a v-whore.

Carla almost cleared her throat awkwardly when she connected the dots, and knowing that much information was a little too much for her. Carla would have been very happy if she never saw Debbie again, and talking about her drug of choice made her shift uncomfortably. She had only dealt with a V addict once, and they had tried to carve another woman's arm off over a few drops in a vile.

Then with a flick of her wrist, Janice changed the conversation. She turned her gaze to Alcide who sat stiffly at the table. He could only imagine what she would say next. Flipping her hair behind her shoulder she spoke.

"Mom is throwing a congratulations party in a few weeks. For the both of you, and your family is invited too. She thinks it would be great for the families to get to know each other." Alcide watched the sudden panic that crossed Carla's face, and he silently cursed himself for not telling his mother that Carla had no family.

He knew why Carla was panicking and it wasn't just because she would be meeting his family, but because she was a lone wolf. Carla hadn't confirmed his suspicions, but he knew her childhood wasn't one of the best out there. Carla would show up alone, and she had already been explained how lone wolves were frowned upon.

Janice quickly caught on that she had said something to upset Carla. Carla excused herself, her face blank, and stiffly walked out of the room. The dogs trailing at her feet, Janice looked from Carla to her brother confused. Running a hand through his hair he chose his words carefully.

"Carla hasn't really talked about it, but she is a lone wolf. She wasn't even aware we traveled in packs until she met me, so I can only assume she doesn't have family or at least family like…_us._" He watched Janice's face twist into one of sympathy, he knew what his family was like and he knew they wouldn't care about the way she grew up. They would of course bombard her with questions, and there would always be a few members (like his cousins) who would make snide comments about lone wolfs.

His immediate family would only care that she treated him well, and that he had not bonded with a woman like Debbie. He could only imagine the excitement on his mother's face when she found out that Carla had a well-paying job, a better job than him. Unlike his family Carla had gone to college, she had an education.

Alcide had only achieved his grade 12 along with a few certificates needed with his job. Other than that he had been grandfathered into his career. Not that it was a bad thing. His parents after all never finished high school and had simply been lucky when it came to landing good jobs. He didn't grow up poor, but he didn't grow up in a house hold loaded with tons of extra cash.

"Mom won't care about that…I can talk to her; just make it a really small party." Alcide had to hold his hand up to stop his sister from continuing. Her heart was in the right place and he understood the excitement in the family, but this was all very new and scary to Carla.

"This is still new to her; I think it would be best that we hold off on anything too uncomfortable for her. We don't want her to run away now do we?" His statement was meant to be a joke, but it felt dry in his mouth. His sister gave him a soft smile back completely understanding. They had a huge extended family, and they sometimes got rowdy.

"I'll tell mom no parties, but you know she will still want the both of you to come to the cottage. She's been dying to meet Carla. Infact she hasn't stopped talking about being a grandmother since she found out." He knew that there was no way out of Carla meeting his mom, if they didn't show up to the cottage she would show up at his door step. Hands on her hips, scowl on her face. She would then give not only him, but Carla an ear full. He could imagine it right now; she would scold both of them from trying to keep her first grandchild from her.

"I'll talk to mom and let you know when we can come down; we might only just stay the night. It really depends on how Carla feels." Another smile spread across Janice's face, it looked strange to see his sister so serious but it wasn't like he hadn't seen the face before.

"You really like her don't you?" She asked watching her brother's breathing hitch. He and his sister were close but they never talked about their love lives, unless it was a bashing of Debbie and her wonderful appearances.

When Alcide didn't answer, the very words caught in his throat. He did care about Carla and he had thought a few times over the past couple of weeks of asking her if they would like to attempt living together, even though he practically lived at her place anyway but he had yet found the right time to ask. Nodding her head, his sister stood up grabbing her purse that hung over the back of the chair.

She slowly and silently made her way to the front door Alcide following behind her. Then at the door she stopped to slip on her shoes. A soft sigh escaped her lips when she finished pulling on her final shoe and looked up at her brother. Even with heals on she was shorter than him, and much like himself she towered over Carla.

"I'll talk to Mom, but you should expect a call from her by the end of the week." They both knew what their mother was like, and he knew that she would be calling at the end of the week to give him an earful. But that gave him a few days to plant the idea of meeting his mother into Carla's head.

With a stiff smile he opened the front door and showed his sister out. He watched from the screen door as she jumped into her dirty truck and pulled away from the side of the road flashing him a small wave. There was a chill in the air and he could smell the change. It was going to rain so shutting both front doors behind him; he made his way upstairs closing all the windows he could find on the way.

It wasn't until he closed his last window just outside Carla's bedroom that he heard a clap of thunder. Frowning he turned towards Carla's door. It was slightly ajar and a soft light peeked through the cracks. The light was from the light on her night side table. Carla would use the light to read before she went to bed, or sometimes in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep.

Pushing the door open he peeked into the room, Carla was surprisingly not curled up reading the book like she normally would be. Instead she was standing in front of a long mirror she kept in the corner of her room. She had her shirt rolled up a little and her pants rolled down her hips. She ran a hand over her stomach and turned her body slightly to see if there was any change in her body. There had yet to be any visibly noticeable changes, but Alcide could definitely smell one, her breast were much larger, and her stomach was starting to become hard. She almost seemed void of any emotion, so he knew she was in deep thought.

"You won't see anything for a while." He said softly, she peeked in her mirror at him a frown on her face. Rolling her pants up and her shirt back down she muttered softly that she knew that. She walked away from the mirror and jumped on her bed, using her knees to crawl onto her side of the bed. Alcide froze at the thought; they both had their own sides of the bed.

"We don't have to go see my family if you don't want to." He said watching her carefully fiddle with the covers; dark circles were under her eyes. It was amazing how tired she was just after an hour and half with Janice at their dinner table.

"Well I'm going to have to meet them at some point. We are after all having a baby." She snapped, Alcide inhaled thinking for a split second. He was treading in deep waters, and one wrong comment could upset her or make her angry. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but think her new bounce in hormones had only just begun.

She fiddled with her pillows, the scowl that was on her face only moments before gone. He could understand how she felt, he had almost made himself sick the first time he had met Debbie's parents. But he was after all a teen and Debbie was his first girlfriend.

"I know we havn't talked about it, but because you were a lone wolf I can only assume a few things about your past, and one of them is that you probably don't have any wear parents… but that doesn't matter to my family. They only care if we're happy." He clenched his jaw waiting for her to do anything or say anything.

Carla was silent for a moment, she didn't like talking about her past and the only person she had said anything to was Sam. Sam understood because much like herself, he understood what it was like to be cast out as a freak.

"I never knew my parents; I grew up with my Grandmother." She paused for a second and she suddenly decided that if she was going to talk about her childhood she was just going to get to the point she didn't want to think about it longer then she needed to. This didn't make it any easier for her.

"After I first shifted my grandmother took me out into the woods and beat me so bad I passed out. I barely made it, in fact I should have died out in those woods because it would have been a lot better than living in the foster homes they placed me." She hadn't realised that she had stopped talking or had been crying until Alcide had sat down beside her and used his fingers to wipe the tears off her face. He pulled her into a hug and although she tried to stop herself from crying, she couldn't.

She had never been comforted before, sure she had talked about it but no one had ever tried to make her feel better about it. She could feel her chest tug a little more towards Alcide, and she knew that she was starting to feel some sort of love for him.

She pushed herself away from him, and laughed as she wiped the remanding tears from her face. They were both embarrassed and confused about what had just happened between them. It didn't seem to faze Alcide, but then again how could her problems? He used to love a drug addict, and Carla was sure dealing with a woman crying was easy for him.

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Anger boiled in Debbie's chest as she silently watched from across the street. Not that she could actually see anything, but she could see enough that she knew what was going on. Alcide had mated with the bitch of a cop that asked her to leave weeks ago, and she could not only smell the sex the poured from her house but her pregnancy as well.

The anger burned so deeply that her eyes had started to glow and she thought of all the things she could possibly do to the girl. One of them being shifting and ripping her tiny throat out.

She and Alicde had been together for years and he wouldn't even consider mating with her, let alone having children with her. And yet here he was with another woman, and a woman he had only known for a few weeks expecting a pup.

She could tell that she wasn't too far along, no more than a month and the stench of her pregnancy would only get stronger. Before long every supernatural creature would know that she carried a pup inside her, and if they were smart they would stay away.

Packs were extremely protective of their pups, and even more so their members pregnant with pups. The males would go nuts if someone got to close to a wolf with a swollen belly, and it wasn't uncommon for the father to kill someone. It was one of those moments that a wolf lost all control of their self. They would kill their best friends, brothers and sometimes even their parents.

Debbie had not personally seen another wolf kill over a pregnant brod, but she didn't ever want to. If she wanted her revenge she would have to enforce it on the knocked up police officer and she would have to do it when Alcide wasn't around.

That was the only way that she could hurt both of them, and it made her giddy that Carla would receive the most pain. If she planned carefully enough she could ensure the miscarriage of Carla's baby and both partner's would be devastated. The plan almost seemed too perfect but she was unsure of how she was going to carry it out.

A second waft of air hit her face as the wind blew past her; it was mixed with the dogs, Alcide, pregnancy and sex. The scowl on her face deepened, shifting into a wolf she padded off into the darkness thinking about what her next move would be.

**Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Semester two of nursing starts soon, so I'll try very hard to update again! Thank you, aubriELLE16, ThatGirl54, Whiteanddark, ILuvOdie , Alcideslover, and x XRoweenaJAugustineX x for the reviews! :)**

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Luna had never showed this kind of behavior before. Sam had completely disagreed with what she was saying. A permanent scowl was spread across his face and he could feel the anger bubble up in his chest. He was thinking a lot of things in his head, and his girlfriend's kindness was not one of them.

Luna had a cross look on her face, and she was of course angry that Sam wouldn't listen to her. Sam was a supernatural creature but he didn't really understand how werewolves acted. She of course had more than enough experience with them, and if she could she would avoid them entirely. It wasn't her fault that they still popped up at her door every now and then.

"You don't get it do you Sam!" she snapped throwing her hands up in the air. To Luna it was not about jealously although Sam could see it written across her face. Luna always harbored some deep down hate for werewolves, and he was sure it was something to do with her ex-boyfriend. The same ex-boyfriend, that killed his brother.

When Sam refused to comment on her rant she continued, "Sam when she has that baby they will form more than a family, they form a pack. If you think Alcide nearly ripping your face off during the mating ritual was bad, what do you think he will do when a shifter starts sniffing around his mate and pup? It will be tenfold what you saw before." Sam could suddenly feel the realization sink in.

A werewolf on their own wasn't as dangerous as a pack, and avoiding a pack meant life. He had already had too many dangerous close calls with packs. He hated the idea of no longer being friends with Carla but he was sure that it might possibly be for the best. At least for now. He needed to protect his family, just like Alcide would protect Carla.

Nodding his head Sam silently agreed with Luna, feeling horrible that he had consented. He had decided at that moment that he would be honest with Carla and tell her why they couldn't be friends anymore, because she at least deserved that. If he was going to be a jerk, he wasn't going to be that jerk that just ignored her until she got the message.

Standing up from Luna's couch he wished her a good night and walked out to his truck, Carla's house his next destination on his mind. The entire time he nervously wiped his mouth with his hand, and by the time he reached Carla's house his jaw was sore from the constant tugging.

The street was dark, and the street lights did no justice at all. The lights on in Carla's house was enough to send his chest into his stomach but seeing Alcide's truck parked a few inches onto Carla's land was more than enough to make him throw up.

He gained control of himself as he walked up her drive way and knocked on her door. These could be the last few moments of his life. He swallowed harshly when Alcide pushed the screen door open a look of confusion on his face.

"I need to talk with Carla." He blurted before Alcide could question his unannounced presence. Still confused with Sam's appearance Alcide pointed him in the direction of the kitchen where his girlfriend was poking around in the fridge.

Sam was completely unaware that the couple had just finished bickering at each other. Carla had developed this nasty habit of changing her mind part way through eating dinner, and Alcide having worked long days got slightly annoyed. Dinner sometimes didn't make sense and he had taken over as house chef being tired of having meals like spaghetti and mashed potatoes.

Sam was thank full that Alcide had walked up the stairs. He wouldn't be on the same floor when he told Carla the news, the last thing he wanted was a pissed off boyfriend ripping his leg off. Carla was tinkering through the fridge and had already pulled out a mass array of foods. Jell-o, mashed potatoes, and other left over sat waiting to be reheated. Pulling her final Tupperware container from the fridge she turned, spoon in her mouth to great Sam.

It was the first time he had seen her in a tight white tank top, and the first time he had seen the tiny swell of a belly. It was hardly noticeable from the front, and to most people they would have just a assumed she had a bit of a belly. But he had always known Carla to be as flat as a board. If anything the little curve was cute.

"Hey Sam." She muttered, pulling lids off and tossing them aside. He momentarily watched her take a few bites of everything frowning when the coldness of the food didn't agree with her taste buds.

"Hey, uh-I need to talk to you." He said rubbing the back of his head. Carla nodded her head allowing him to know that she was listening. He knew it was now or never. Before he even knew what was happening he blurted out that they could no longer be friends. He was sure that somewhere in there he had said more than that but he couldn't remember, he was too preoccupied by the look on Carla's face.

It wasn't a face he expected, and when she tossed her spoon into a container did he realize what trouble he was in. Her eyes shifted into the strange orange glow they always had the moment before they turned and he knew he only had moments to escape from the house before Carla lost all control of herself.

Carla had never been so angry in her life, she could feel the bubbling from her stomach to her chest and could hardly contain herself. She knew what was coming and even when Sam was no longer in her sight that feeling of her jaw clamping down on something was itching at her. She threw a couple of things across the room, ignoring the start of a car outside.

Alcide having heard the commotion had ran down stairs to see his girlfriend painfully try to hold back a shift. He knew she was past the point of being able to avoid it since she had already stripped down naked and was holding painfully onto the counter so he did the only thing he could think of, he opened the back door.

She bolted out the door, and into the small woods behind her home. He thought about following after her for a moment, but quickly decided he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her anger. He would leave her for a little bit then go out looking for her.

He had finished cleaning the kitchen, laundry, and making their bed before he had stripped down in the kitchen trotting into the woods to find his girlfriend. It wasn't hard to find her when he caught her sweet sent and the trail of squirrels she left behind. He found her about two miles in the woods crouched down over a dead rabbit. Her powerful jaws pulled at the warm flesh quickly swallowing.

Her eyes flashed up at him for a quick second before she continued on with what she was doing. No words needed to be exchanged between them for him to understand that she was still upset, but all the pent up anger she had was now gone. Lazily he laid beside her resting his head on her warm back, waiting for her to finish her prize.

With a shift of her weight she pushed the left over bits of the rabbit she didn't want offering her mate the chance to enjoy the fresh rabbit as well. Alcide wasn't the least bit hungry eating dinner somewhere between doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen. Even if he was hungry he was too concerned with Carla.

Using his jaw he grabbed the scruff of her neck forcing her on her back. Not liking what was about to happen Carla groaned, wiggling around on her back as Alcide used his tongue to clean her face. Her groans continued until he was satisfied that he had gotten everything off.

Another groan escaped Carla's throat as she used her front legs to wrap around his muzzle. Alcide quickly pulled from her week grasp only to have her wrap her arms around his muzzle again.

Carla had started a game that Alcide was quite happy to play, and they went from Carla grabbing his muzzle to full out tussling on the ground. Carla of course pinned under Alcide on her back. The playful growls echoed through the forest, they were loud enough to scare off any small animal and soon the sound of them playfully fighting was the only thing that could be heard.

A surprise sneeze came from Carla and all over Alcide before they both finally stopped. A little disgusted by what had just happened Alcide used his front paws to rub the wetness from his face. Carla rolled off her back a small huff coming from her chest, she shifted back into her normal naked self, tugging at her curly locks.

She was tired, and he could understand. Shifting he sat up on the ground and pulled her into his lap. The sight would be odd to anyone who was simply passing by, a pregnant woman and a man sitting together naked. But sitting in the woods was so normal for the two they didn't even second guess it.

"Are you okay?" Alcide asked breaking the silence, his hand absentmindedly made its way to her stomach where he felt for any sign of life. The only thing he could feel was the slight swell of her stomach. Her breasts on the other hand had swollen to such a portion that she needed a new set of bras.

She had 'dragged' him to the store to help her pick out a new set. He pretended he hated the entire experience, but in all honesty who would hate watching their pregnant girlfriend putting on new bras. Alcide for sure loved the entire experience, and made sure she had lots of bras.

"I think so." She said softly, she shifted bumping his hand away from her stomach before settling down again. Goosebumps started to rise on her skin and she was starting to get cold.

"I've just never been so mad." She said taking his hand and placing it back on her stomach. She couldn't see the small smile from Alcide, but it was lightly stretched across his face. Her hormones were surely the cause of the flaming anger she experienced, but whatever Sam had said to her had set her off.

"He told me that we couldn't be friends anymore, because…. his girlfriend …. is a fucking bitch." She started to wiggle around in his lap and he could hear the growl in her chest as she fought the urge to shift.

A thought occurred to her, which really much more a desire. She wanted to hurt Sam, and more than anything feel her teeth in his flesh. Maybe shake him around a little. The thought made her jaw clench and she quickly tried to push back the animal. Sam was a jerk, and he wasn't worth a mauling.

It was harder to hold back her inner animal when Alcide let out a deep growl. His anger was quick and harsh. It wasn't normal for him to jump from calm to angry so quickly, but the idea of Sam coming into their home and telling Carla they couldn't be friends because of his girlfriend sent him into a whole new realm of angry.

If he ever saw the man again he would deck him one in the face. Alcide didn't stop to think once about what had happened, or else he would have learned that Sam said they couldn't be friends because he wanted to keep his family safe. The very same thing Alcide had done with Sookie when he first found out that Carla was pregnant.

There was a reason why supers didn't mix. The only thing Alcide could think of was that Sam had hurt Carla, and that Sam was now a threat. This was the very thing Luna had warned Sam against and it was also the reason so many supers stayed away from the wolves. They were often more animal then human.

A yelp came from Carla, she was barely holding onto her human side, and Alcide was close to losing control too. Thoughts that made sense were quickly thrown out the window and Alcide acted purely on instinct and he started with what was in front of him. Grabbing her hips and quickly shifting their position, he dominated Carla.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you, Whiteanddark, ThatGirl54, 123xoxo3211 , and Alcideslover for the reviews. As well as the people who use guest accounts. **

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Jd had thrown something across the room. His anger was so loud that a few of the wolfs standing just outside the room stirred and looked in to see what was happening. Debbie on the other hand had expected his fury, and simply raised an eyebrow. Throwing things wouldn't get them anywhere close to what she wanted.

Debbie wanted Carla childless, heartbroken, and she wanted Alcide the same. Only then would she have the power she wanted over her ex, and it helped that it made her stomach flutter with happiness.

Debbie knew she wasn't powerful enough to do anything on her own, but with a pack master behind her she knew her plans would come true. The only thing she had to do was let JD know that Alcide and Carla had bonded, and that they were both expecting.

She waited for the information to sink in JD's head before she simply said, "When they have that baby, their officially starting a new pack."

Debbie didn't mean they were looking for new members, just that two lone wolves makes a couple. But three makes a small pack, and a small family. It would only be a matter of time before the whispers started. JD wasn't stupid, he knew there were members in his pack that wanted to leave, but they were all too scared to start their own packs, out of fear of being a pack master, and to face JD's wrath.

When the baby was born, Alcide would officially have a pack. Alcide would be a pack master regardless if he liked it or not. Members in his pack would now be more likely to leave and join with Alcide because the factor of being pack-master and having to face JD's wrath was taken out of the equation. Alcide would have to protect his pack, no matter what.

"I will not stand by and watch that floozy, and bastard make a new pack in my area!" JD hollered kicking the ground; his temper tantrum let Debbie know that he was beyond angry, and that he was now officially on her side. It was only a matter of time before she got what she wanted, and Debbie liked getting what she wanted.

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Carla hadn't gone back to Merlott's since the incident she had with Sam. She was still too angry to step in the joint, and she knew she couldn't control herself if she saw him. She felt betrayed, and like she was no better than garbage. Carla felt that if their situations had been reversed that she would have fought for their friendship, not cast it aside so easily.

Alcide had tried to make her feel better by making her, her morning bagel and coffee. She was okay with it the first morning he had, but it slowly made her angry and he left her alone to mope. She spent an entire afternoon dragging him around town looking for her 'new place'. He tried so many different bagels that morning he was officially sick of them. After a long day Carla had decided that she was going to eat at a little diner called Jimmies.

Alcide had known the diner well, since it was the diner he frequently stopped at for lunch. He would never admit it, but he had thrown in a few words of encouragement for her to choose this diner, so he could see her more.

The idea of his girlfriend showing up at Jimmies on a regular basis was very appealing to him. He could show her off to his friends, and he could also get her to spend some more time with his family. His father frequented the diner more than he did, and his mother and sister went to the diner together every Sunday morning.

"I pick Jimmies, it's the only fucking diner in this area that doesn't have stuffed animals on the walls." She angrily tossed another uneaten bagel at Alcide who just placed it with the others on the car floor. They would have to throw most of them out, because if they gave them all to the dogs they would have the trots.

It took a total of two weeks for Alcide to actually see Carla at Jimmies, and when he did she was sitting with Bruce in a booth. She had a large plate of fries in front of her and she carefully picked out the ones she wanted to eat. His co-workers quickly pointed her out laughing that there had been a pretty new girl in the diner until Alcide sat down beside her. There was an instant flair of a smile that spread across her face and at that moment everyone knew that the pretty little cop was with him.

This was the beginning of their almost daily ritual, and a small group of friends. Carla could smell that all of these people were werewolf's, and that the diner was ran by them too. The smell made her nose tingle, and she couldn't help but feel completely at ease with so many werewolf's around. She didn't however notice how the people at the diner hovered around her, and how she was often given a careful eye. They were all protecting her, making sure she was all right. The scent of her pregnancy exploded into the store, and even after she was gone it still lingered.

It was one night after the star couple had left that a remaining few weres sat around a table drinking the remainder of beer they had. A stunned silence hung over them and they all knew they were thinking the same thing. They were all old enough to have their own grandchildren, each of them all hovering around the age of 50 to 60.

They didn't like the recent turn of events in their new pack, and the whispers that some of the members were on V scared them. V was a horrible substance that made people rabid, and gave them unmatchable strength. It was highly addictive, and it brought around a darkness that none of them wanted. Vampires.

At the table sat Red, an older man who worked with Alcide and his father. Red had three grandchildren, and two children of his own. His grandchildren were around the ages of 16 to 19 and two weeks prior his oldest grandson had been found rolling around in a ditch by his ex-wife. His grandson had been taking V, and had overdosed on the substance.

Unlike humans, V burned in their veins and made them more animal than normal. They also had this undesirable urge to screw anything they could find. This utterly terrified the women in the pack because they could easily be overpowered, and the V gave anyone a jump start in power.

"We gotta get out before it gets worse." A small woman chirped pushing her empty beer on the table. Her eyes were foggy, and deep dark circles hung under her eyes. She was tired, she couldn't sleep at night, and more than one gray hair had started to pop up on her head in the past few months. Red watched her with interest, he of course completely agreed with her, and it was partly the reason he had called this little meeting.

"It's not as easy as it sounds, we need a pack master. JD will be pissed when we leave, and I sure in hell won't be the one who has to feel his wrath." Another man spoke loudly, uncaring of who could hear him. He doubted there was any JD supporters around and even if there were he would pummel them before they had the chance to even leave the joint.

Another man had opened his mouth to say something when Red cut them all off. He wanted to get straight to the point, it wasn't safe talking about these things, and he knew it was only a matter of time before someone found out what they were all up too.

"Someone came to JD the other night and told him that Alcide was starting his own pack." Red said watching the looks of confusion and hope spread across everyone's faces. It was no secrete that they loved Alcide, and they had hoped for him to be pack master. But after JD's defeated Alcide had walked away with his tail between his legs. They had no doubt in their minds Alcide would have won if JD wasn't on V.

"Alcide never mentioned anything…are you sure?" the woman asked, she swallowed harshly hoping that the information they were being given wasn't wrong, and that this somehow wasn't a trap. She couldn't risk her life for a rumor, and she wouldn't.

"When Carla and Alcide have that baby they will form a pack. It will be a small pack, but a pack none the less and weather he likes it or not they need more members if they want to be safe. JD is not going to sit back and allow three wolfs in his territory. But JD can't do anything about it if the pack has larger numbers." Red said, a mummer of agreement hovered over the group, Red was right. Three members were an easier target then a group of 10 or more. They were sure more members would want to join this new pack if it was formed, because many people had young children, and were worried about the effects the new pack master had. They needed someone who wasn't on drugs, and someone who could step up, take responsibility.

"We need to talk to Alcide before we make a move. He has to accept role of pack master before we make him one." The old woman said, she took a final swig of her beer and frowned when it was empty.

"You're forgetting Carla, she needs to agree to this as well. We can't have an alpha with a mate. We need two alphas, male and female. The pack won't last long if his mate shows no interest." Red said, none of them really knew Carla well enough. They did know that she was strange, and that she had come from a background where she poorly taught herself everything she needed to know about being a wear. Half the time what she had taught herself was half-truths, and she often sat stunned when they talked about their species.

The idea of a woman knowing so little and being an alpha scared a few, but Red believed that she could learn over time. There was also the added bonus that she was a cop, and their idea was less than perfect. There would be lots of bumps on the road ahead. What was adding one more?

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	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you x XRoweenaJAugustineX x, casper6six6 , ThatGirl54, and whiteanddark for the reviews!**

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"So what do you think?" Alcide asked his mother, she sighed and leaned against the door way they were standing in. They were both watching Carla sitting on the couch surrounded by the large amount of family that had chosen to show up at the cottage. Alcide was not happy they had all taken it upon themselves to show up but they did. They all showed up with massive amounts of gifts for Carla and the baby. Carla was then forced to sit down and unwrap them all while the rest of the family watched.

Alcide had to admit that she was doing quite well and although the smile on her face fooled his family he knew she was just a little bit overwhelmed. He knew by the time food came round that his family would lose interest in her, and she would no longer be the center of attention. They would all gravitate towards their normal groupings and talk about how wonderful Carla was.

"I think she's a sweetheart." His mother said a soft smile on her face. His sister reminded him so much of his mother, since the two were almost identical, his mother just a little more worn then his more youthful sister. But their personalities were completely different.

"MUCH, better then Debbie!" His mother chimed hitting him softly in the side. Alcide could only chuckle, he was tired of people comparing the two. He was done with Debbie, and he would be more than happy to never hear from her again but Debbie was making that hard for him.

There was a cluster of giggles and awing from the living room as Carla pulled out another pair of tiny booties. Carla's laugh was almost covered by the large crowd but Alcide could pick out her voice anywhere.

"You love her don't ya?" His mother laughed, she had caught him off guard and he sputtered over his words. It was too soon to love her, in his opinion. Sure they had that over bearing mate thing, but he didn't think that was anything close to being in love. It was hard for him to explain what mates felt for each other, because you really had to be mated to someone to understand.

"Awww, look at you! She's a good girl Alcide! She'll take good care of you!" His mother continued, disappearing before he could say anything. It was one of the traits he hated about his mother, she always seemed to know him better then he knew himself.

When he was in high school his mother had known he liked Debbie, way before he did. She cornered him one night and told him that he had to ask Debbie out, or she would make him sleep in the backyard. She had been completely serious, he had seen her do it to his sister.

His silently studied Carla who was handed another gift to unwrap and she smiled thanking the woman who had handed it to her. It was only then did the thought occur to him. He wasn't in love with Carla, but he was falling in love with her.

He didn't understand how he couldn't have seen it before. They worked well together, they often bickered, but there was no other place in the world he would rather be. There was also no other woman he could see himself having children with and he hoped they had many children. He wanted little boys and girls that looked like Carla. His mom would be very happy to hear that she would have more than one grandchild. It would mean that they would need a bigger home, but he was okay with that. He would build Carla's dream home. He chuckled at the thought, Carla always complained that her dream home would have a bay window she could sit in and a room she would fill with books.

A sudden flash of red caught his eye, and Alcide's head suddenly snapped towards the large window to his right. He almost brushed the blur off as a trick of the light until he saw a red wolf poke its head out of the crowded woods beside the cottage.

The wolf was instantly recognizable, he only knew one person who shifted into a red wolf. It was also the reason the man had been nicknamed Red. A deep scowl deepened on Alcide's face, he was sure the sight of his old friend meant trouble. There was no other reason for him to show up to a baby shower uninvited.

Quickly checking on Carla he slipped out of the kitchen and walked towards the spot he had seen the red wolf. His father would have smacked him for being so stupid; he could have been walking string into a trap. Alcide had no idea how many wolves were in the woods, but that stupid over protective aspect he had over Carla sometimes kicked into full gear way before he knew what was happening.

Alcide was lucky that Red was the only one in the woods and he stood naked in the woods far enough so that they both couldn't see the small cottage. Alcide suddenly felt the pent up anger in his chest and released a deep breath he didn't even know he was holding in.

Red was very much aware of what he was playing, and knew if it came down to it Alcide could rip him apart. Red after all didn't have an alpha bone in his body. Alcide did, it was in his blood after all. They both stood staring at each other for a few moments waiting for the brief anger in Alcide to dissipate.

"What are you doing here?" Alcide commanded watching the man carefully. In any other situation he would have welcomed Red as a friend, but Red didn't show up at the door. He instead chose to creep around in the woods.

"We need to talk, and nobody can know it was me." Red's words confused Alcide. He had no idea what Red could have wanted to talk to him about that he didn't want to get caught. It was stupid, and wolves of his rank usually followed. They would never compromise their position by being labeled a traitor.

Alcide jerked his head a little letting Red know that he was listening. Red swallowed harshly knowing it was now or never.

"Jd has been giving Vamp Blood to some of the little ones, and a lot of us want out." Red's voice was low, and his head jerked to the side hearing a rabbit dash away from them. It was evident he was paranoid someone would hear them.

"Then leave, it's got nothing to do with me." Alcide snapped, he didn't like where this was going. He was sure in the next few moments he was going to hear something he didn't like so when Red turned his gaze back to him and spoke he wasn't surprised.

"You and I both know we can't do that." Red said, challenging Alcide. Alcide growled warning Red to back down, and Red cringed. The ice he was treading on was becoming thinner.

"There has been talk. We want you and Carla to be the new pack leaders." Red said, a flash of anger spread across Alcide's face.

"NO!" Alcide snapped, he wasn't stupid, he knew what would happen if he formed a new pack right under Jd's nose. He wasn't going to put Carla or his pup in that position. It was that moment Alcide decided the conversation was over and turned to walk back towards the cottage.

"What do you think will happen when you have that baby? You will no longer be two wolves, you will be a pack. Think about it, before you say no." Alcide pretended that he hadn't heard Red, as he slipped out of the woods. He wanted to fume and be angry, but he couldn't.

He had never thought of the baby that way, not how it would affect their status as wolves. The very idea of being in a small pack made him happy, but Jd was not the kind of pack master to leave them alone. He had already attempted to make Carla part of his pack, and when she refused he was sure the man wasn't happy. There was no possible way that he could protect his mate and child if a group showed up. But at the same time he didn't want to start a pack and stir up more trouble. Starting another pack in Jd's area would mean war.

* * *

Alcide had to strap all the new baby stuff in the back of the truck. A lot of the items were too small to be left on their own so he had to stuff them in boxes his mother had in the recycling. Then after he was finished his mother, and sister spent even more time saying goodbye to Carla.

Carla continued to smile and pretend she loved being with his family but Alcide knew she was beyond tired. She just wanted to go home, and she was overwhelmed with the amount of attention she was getting. Then with a few more hugs they were off.

They sat in silence until Alcide had pulled off onto the main road when she simply stated, "Never again." He found it hard to contain the laugh in his chest; she shot him a tired look before resting her arm on the window ledge, then rested her head in her hand.

Their drive was almost entirely silent, and when they pulled into the subdivision they could feel the stress in their shoulders start to build. The excitement to be home and to finally be alone was strongly tugging at them.

Alcide's truck pulled in the drive way when Carla suddenly sat straight up in the passenger seat. Her quick and sudden movement startled Alcide not expecting such movements from his sleepy girlfriend. Her fingers quickly unbuckled her seat belt and she swung the door open.

He had never seen his girlfriend move so fast so the confusion continued to grow until she saw her quickly unlock her car door and pull out a small gun from the locked gloved compartment. She then quickly ran up the driveway and towards the front door. It was then he realized their front door had been kicked in.

The sudden fear of his girlfriend being hurt put him in overdrive and he jumped out of his truck not even bothering to turn it off or close the door. He followed after her slipping through the front door silently as to make sure that he wasn't seen or heard.

It wouldn't have mattered how he had ran through the house because their perpetrators had left their house long ago. Their sent was no longer strong in their house, but had started to fade and the overwhelming smell of blood and rot hit his nose.

He had known what had happened even before he turned the corner and saw Carla sitting on the floor in a pool of blood over two dogs that had been ripped apart.

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**Please review. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you to: Werewolfe22 , WiseWhiteOwl, betholly, NoMoreTears, casper6six6 , ThatGirl54, 123xoxo3211, Kay1104 , and ILuvOdie for reviewing. **

**I haven't updated in a long time, but I was in school which is hard enough and then my father passed away. You really don't care about updating a fan-fiction after something like that. **

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It was going to be a long night, and after being up until 5 in the morning, Alcide could start to feel his tired eyes. So he could only imagine the toll on Carla's body, she had stopped crying after Jason had pulled her away from the dogs' bodies. The cops that had showed up were silent as they moved around the room.

They couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a partner let alone, both of their pets at the same time. They all loved Bruce and he would be missed, but anger started to brew in their bellies. They all believed they were in a brotherhood, and Bruce was part of that brotherhood. The murder of Bruce was an attack of the police force as well as Carla.

It was clear that both dogs were ripped apart, but even worse was someone in bare feet had dragged them from the kitchen to the dining room onto Carla's white rugs. They wanted to make a point and the stains on the rug would never come out. Carla would be forced to remove all of her carpet.

Carla sat quietly outside the house on her love swing, she had been asked a million questions and the frustration was evident on her face. She was too upset to be angry yet, whereas Alcide tried very hard to swallow the anger. They could both smell the blood, the dogs, but underneath that smell they both could smell Debbie, and JD.

If Alcide could he would rip the two of them apart at that moment, but things like this needed to be dealt with silently. Just like JD and Debbie had killed their dogs. A terrifying idea crossed Alcide's mind. What if when they broke into the house Carla was there alone? Sure she was a cop, but she would have to reach a gun before she could do anything to two wears vamped up on V.

One by one the officers left. They left behind Jason who watched silently as the final police officer pulled out of the drive way. Alcide knew he was waiting to say something as soon as it was clear, Jason sat down beside Carla who didn't even bother to look at him.

"I know this may sound stupid…but I think a wear did it." Jason said, fear was etched on his face, and he quickly looked from Alcide to Carla. He had known about Alcide for a while, his sister had told him many stories about the troubles she had been in, and meeting Alcide while looking for Bill was one of the many stories she had told him. He didn't know if Carla knew anything about weres so he kept his arm flexed ready to jump for his gun, just encase Alcide jumped at him.

"How do you know about wears?" Carla asked him, she looked completely confused and a little terrified that Jason suddenly knew so much.

"Sookie told me, after she met Alcide." He said carefully, Carla's eyes turned to Alcide.

"That waitress from Merlott's? How the hell does she know about us?" Carla panicked, she didn't need anymore drama. She knew Sookie was trouble the moment she laid eyes on her, and had decided to stay away. She had already heard about how Sookie was sleeping with two vampires, and Carla wanted nothing to do with Vamps.

"US?" Jason shouted, quickly figuring out that Carla was indeed a werewolf, he looked at her stunned and when she spat out a rude 'what' he finally looked away, his cheeks ablaze. He was starting to believe that he was the only normal person around, everyone he met seemed to be crazy, or some super.

"Sookie was a friend; I helped her out about a year ago." Alcide said, his words seemed to barely calm his girlfriend, who was an emotional rollercoaster.

"She have anything to do with your psycho bitch ex-girlfriend killing my dogs?" Carla snapped, Alcide knew she was close to losing control, and Jason looked even more confused. Jason couldn't believe they both already knew who had killed both dogs.

Carla's eyes started to glow, her pent up anger towards Debbie growing, he knew the anger wasn't really directed towards him. The situation for Jason just became that more serious, and he was completely unaware.

"Jason if you want to live you better go now." Alcide said, and as he expected the words made Carla even madder. Jason for once in his life didn't question what was happening, and if anything he didn't want to get in the middle of two supers. He jumped down the stairs at the end of the porch, and even before the car started Carla was on her feet heading towards the backyard. Articles of her clothing were tossed on the still bloody floor.

"Where are you going?" Alcide asked, he was angry but unlike his girlfriend he could control it. She clenched her teeth as she ignored him, pulling the screen door in the kitchen off its hinges, she tossed it across the kitchen. The door had almost hit Alcide.

"Where are you going?" he asked again, Carla turned around her teeth in a grimace.

"To find your bitch of an ex-girlfriend." Carla had every intention of finding Debbie and ripping her apart like she had her precious pets. But a wear who couldn't control herself, would quickly lose and Alcide knew this is what Debbie wanted.

"No, you're not, you can't even control yourself!" He commanded, she shifted into a wolf and bolted from the door. He wouldn't have believed it if he didn't hear it with his own ears but she had challenged him to stop her. Carla had no idea what she was asking for; she had no idea what it meant to challenge an alpha wolf, let alone her mate.

He was blinded by his anger for a few moments, long enough for him to undress and bolt after her. She was normally quicker than him, but the stiffness of her stomach made it harder for her to run, and he quickly caught up to her. He snarled and jumped her, grabbing the scruff of her neck between his teeth.

She yelped not expecting the sharp pain, and in a brief moment of panic kicked at him with her paws. He flinched when one of her claws caught him under the throat ripping the soft flesh open enough that he could feel the sting. It barely bled and he knew by morning it would be gone.

Carla wiggled her body around trying to get her jaw around his neck but failed because of the angle she was at. It was impossible to even turn her head, the frustration was quickly building and she started to snarl at him.

The sound made him angry, very angry and if she were any other wolf he would have put her in her place. It was hard to remember in moments like these that she was his girlfriend. His pregnant girlfriend. Alcide snorted and lay down on top of her. He was the dominant party in their relationship, and she needed to learn her place.

Another yelp came from Carla, she wasn't expecting the heavy weight of her boyfriend on top of her. He was indeed a great deal heavier then her, and although she was use to being underneath him, he had never before put his full weight on top of her. It was hard to breathe, and the more she struggled the more difficult breathing became.

She was being squished, it was hard to move let alone breathe. She could have sworn her belly felt like it would burst. She tried to wiggle from underneath him, but quickly discovered there was no way she was going anywhere with his teeth around her neck, and weight on her. Slowly she begun to tire, and gave up.

He still remained on top of her until he was sure she had calmed down. He removed his jaws from around her neck first studying her face, the sadness from earlier began to set in again. He felt incredibly bad for her, and she broke his heart when she started to cry again. Only this time it came out as soft whimpers, and whines.

He lifted himself off her body and lay beside her. He then took the scruff of her neck between his teeth and pulled some of her body between his legs. Using his mouth he nudged her, letting her know that he was there for her.

* * *

Alcide put some deep thought into a lot of things over the next few days, and Carla seemed to put little thought into anything. She was quick to anger, and always on edge. They had gotten into more than one fight and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the reason she was this way was she didn't feel safe. A lot of female wolves acted like that and it would only get worse if it continued. It also didn't help that she was pregnant.

Carla's work had put her on stress leave, which would then turn into maternity leave. She was angry about it, and came home slamming things. She had broken the phone and the cupboards. Her home was starting to look like a right off and Alcide didn't feel like fixing anything.

He hated to admit it, but he couldn't protect a small pack on his own. So one afternoon when Carla had gone to his sisters to get her hair done, he called Red. He hated the very idea of starting his own pack, but it was really the only way he could see that his girlfriend and unborn child would be safe.

Red was almost impossible to hear on the other end of the phone, but the thing he did hear was that in order for them to avoid a lot of conflict they needed their own land. They didn't need much but just enough so that they could have runs and get together.

They spoke of a patch of land that was for sale outside of JD's territory. It was only approximately 19 akers, but it would be enough for now until they found something more suitable. There was also money issues. They needed to get enough money to pay for a down payment, and also build some kind of shelter. They had agreed it was a good idea, if they could get Carla to go along with it.

Carla was quite loud when she came in, throwing her keys in the little dish bowl by the door. He could hear the rustling of bags, and assumed that his sister had taken her out baby shopping. They were still about a month away from finding out the gender, and his sister was slowly becoming stir crazy. His entire family wanted to know the gender of the child badly.

The naked floors creaked under Carla as she shuffled her way to the kitchen where he was sitting. He had a number of bank stuff in front of him, as well as the small bit of land he was looking to buy. Carla murmured something to him before placing her bags on the table. He knew there was only a matter of seconds before she would force him into looking at all the baby things she bought.

She had enough time to pull a toy from the bag a small smile on her lips before he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She happily obliged wrapping her arms around his neck. For a split second he could of sworn she was completely happy, but how could she after all the things she had been through.

"Can we talk?" he whispered inhaling her sent. If he couldn't smell her pregnancy before, he sure could now. The smile on her face almost dropped instantly, and sadness was clearly etched across her face. Her fingers made their way up the side of his face, and gently played with what little facial hair he had. He loved it when she did this, because Carla typically wasn't one to latch onto him all day. Debbie use to, and unlike Carla, Debbie was very controlling of their relationship. So when Carla showed him any affection he knew she meant it.

"Yeah." She said softly, her eyes were doe like. She was tired, and she was trying very hard to keep everything together. Taking in another deep breath he settled his nerves and his thoughts.

"I talked to Red today." He said ignoring her mummer of agreence.

"He and a few others want us to start a pack." He knew she would react but he didn't expect it to be just her face scrunching up in confusion.

"Him and a few others want out of JD's pack, and they asked us if we would be their alphas. I told him I would only do it if you agreed, and if you do we have a plot of land picked out for the pack. "Carla remained silent for a few moments, before she pulled away from him slightly.

"This is why they killed my dogs isn't it?" she asked, the saddened look on her face deepened. She was on the verge of tears, and his stomach twisted. He didn't want her to cry, he never wanted her to cry. He nodded his head, he knew this was definitely the reason why JD's sent could be smelt through their house, but it was possibly not the reason why he could smell Debbie.

A few tears fell from Carla's eyes; she quickly wiped them away, laughing in embarrassment. He was surprised that she kept it in so well, but then she had after all been alone for so long that she was probably very good at it. He let her finish wiping her tears. She took in a deep breath and unexpectedly pressed her forehead into his cheek.

"What's it like…being raised in a pack?" she asked, he heard her swallow. The question caught him off guard. He thought hard for a moment before answering.

"There isn't any way really to explain it, except for its like having a huge family." That was really the only way he could explain it. He missed the feeling of being in a pack, he still had his mother, sister, and father but they didn't fill that empty feeling of being in a pack.

Carla pulled her head away from his cheek and he watched as her hand found its way to her tummy. He knew she was thinking about the baby, she was chewing on her lip in deep thought.

"I want the baby to have everything I didn't have." She said firmly turning her body once again to wrap her arms around his neck. "I'll do it."

Alcide couldn't be happier to hear the words coming from her mouth. Pressing his mouth to her's he pulled her closer.

"But why do you need to buy land?" She asked after a brief pause between the two. Her eyes had caught a large pile of papers on the table, and she could easily see he was trying to buy a small plot of land.

"Because JD can't do much to us if we have our own territory." A smile spread across her face, and she chuckled, her lips hovering dangerously close to his.

"Well Alcide Herveaux you must be very happy to have picked me for a mate."

* * *

"So how much land is this?" Red asked looking past the clearing into a large wooded area. Carla had her arms crossed and she hovered close to Alcide. She shrugged her shoulders.

"About 190 akers, she said softly." Alcide and Red both were stunned by her answer. She chewed her lip as they both stared at her.

"How did you come across so much land?" Red asked baffled, he didn't actually expect for a response because he slowly started to make his way towards the woods to check it out. Red was too excited to see the complete lack of emotion in Carla's face but Alcide could feel her distress tugging at his chest.

It caused a curious reaction, and it felt like his ribcage was gently being pulled away from his body. He felt like he was being tugged towards her, and he needed to be as close as possible with her.

"Carla?" he asked, lowering his hand to the small of her back. She jumped, clearly on edge. She tried to ignore his gaze but when she realised it wasn't going to work she sighed deeply. Her fingers were digging into her flesh and he could see how the tips were turning white from the pressure.

"I know this is hard for you, but you don't have to do this. We can find another way." He said firmly. Deep down he wanted her to say no, because the conversation after she confessed she owned a large mass of land disturbed him. It was more woods then what JD and his pack owned. At first Alcide was so baffled that she owned so much land and that it was just sitting around. This was until he had started to ask questions. The questions first started out of excited curiosity, but they quickly turned grave and gave him a chill.

The land had been in her family for about 100 years, and it was the very little neck of the woods that her grandmother had beaten her near death in. Alcide had always been under the impression that her grandmother had taken her into a park, or something strange like that. Not her own back yard. He ignored the flinch of terror the rippled across her face when they drove past a small house that was falling down a few miles back. He quickly understood that the house was her childhood home.

He would have been totally happy if she just sold the property off, but she brushed him off when he suggested it. The cold shoulder she gave him stung and she wouldn't talk any more about it.

"I don't expect you to understand, but I want to do this. It will take a bit of time to get used to it, but we need this." She ignored the frown that crossed his face. Alcide wasn't stupid, he knew it was near impossible to come across this much land now a days, but there was other ways around it. They didn't need 190 akers, they could manage with something much smaller if they wanted to.

"Look we can sell this if you want, use the money to buy something smaller." An irritated sigh left Carla's mouth and she rolled her eyes.

"I can't exactly sell this property even if I wanted to; I don't exactly own it quite yet. But even if I could we would be completely stupid to throw all this away." Carla crossed her arms. Alcide could feel his stomach bubble in anger. He had no idea that the woman who beat Carla was still alive. He had somehow tricked himself into believing that a woman like that would have expired a long time ago, and that Carla could no longer be haunted by her. He was very far from the truth.

Unaware that his mind had begun to wander Carla reached across the small space between them, sliding her small fingers in his. It was enough to stir him out of his thought process, and to look at her. Carla could never tell him, but he always looked at her, his eyes shining with joy.

It had terrified her the first time she saw it, but she quickly learned it was a good thing. That he truly cared about her, maybe even loved her. But love was not something she was well educated on.

"If it is too big to manage, we build at house here. Then if it's still too big we can sell of small parts of it to pack members, so they can build here too." Alcide only nodded his head in agreement. He really had no say in what she did with her land, but she was at least considering him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you, Whiteanddark, SamanthaJane13, NoMoreTears, and NoMoreTears for the reviews. As well as the people who sent me personal messages. **

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"No, I don't want blue." Carla said pushing a paint tile off to the side on the kitchen table. Janice annoyed with their process rolled her eyes, and leaned forward in her chair. She bit the inside of her cheek holding back what she was really thinking. Carla needed to just pick a colour and at this point no one really cared what colour she picked.

A frustrated sigh left Carla's lips as she pushed the tiles away from herself. "I hate them all." She said shifting her eyes to Janice. Carla had known about twenty minutes ago that Janice had lost all interest in the paint chips and moved her attention somewhere else.

There was a shift in Janice's chair as she watched Carla stand up and made her way towards the fridge. The almost hourly process was starting to wear an invisible path in the floor. Alcide knew her route almost too well, and Carla could now perform it in her sleep.

"So when are you going to find out the gender of the baby?" Janice asked, she didn't need to look at Carla to know a look of irritation crossed her face. The five month mark was slowly closing in, and it would be any day now. It seemed everyone was excited to know what the baby would be, not being happy with the blurry ultrasounds.

"We've been through this, Alcide and I don't want to know. So whatever information you're digging for, just ask." Carla slammed the fridge door shut rattling the contents inside. She hadn't taken anything out of the fridge, and had now moved on to the cupboards.

Janice bit the inside of her cheek carefully forming the words in her mind. She wanted to know a lot, and she knew Carla would only let her in on so much. Her brother had asked she not share much and unlike any of the women in her family, Carla was keeping her promise.

"This pack that you and…" She was suddenly cut off by Carla who pulled a bag of cookies from the cupboard.

"What about it?" she asked, Janice shot her an annoyed looked turning herself around in the chair so she could see Carla better.

"Are you and Alcide really serious about it?" A silence hung between the two of them. Carla placed another cookie in her mouth and slowly chewed before swallowing. Her delicate hands reached for another. Carla nodded her head.

"I think you're crazy and I don't think you and Alcide have any idea what Debbie could be capable of." At the mention of the name Carla's head snapped up glowing orange and a loud growl escaped her throat. Janice immediately felt inferior, and sized herself down. She was not going to attempt to take a mama wolf on, let alone an Alfa of a pack.

A loud creak and bang came from the front door as Alcide walked in. It was enough to distract Carla from her anger, and put her back in a good mood. A deep sigh left Alcide's lips as he entered the kitchen. Alcide didn't even look at his sister as he went straight for Carla.

Deep circles under his eyes showed the lack of sleep. Alcide had spent the past few nights designing a house. It had popped up as a huge surprise for Carla, but the idea had made sense. Alcide was going to sell his house, and move in with Carla. There he would fix up her house a little, while he and a few friends worked on building a new house.

The house was going to be big enough so they could host more pack members. It would also be located on Carla's mass of land. This way it would be a little safer for Carla and the baby. This also gave Alcide the opportunity to design their dream home. He had already included a window bench for Carla in the living room. She had been so excited by the idea that it made up for the long nights of designing.

A giggle came from Carla when Alcide grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him. He tiredly buried his head in the crook of her neck. They both missed Janice's rolling eyes as she watched the couple. Janice was happy for her brother, but at the same time she didn't like to see him hang off of Carla's hip.

But Alcide was always like that with his girlfriends, and it often led to whispers. His father was nothing like that, and it probably explained why their parents weren't together. But no one had a clue where he had picked up the behavior and it wasn't like their mother ever dated another man.

"We have a pack meeting tonight." Alcide said, finally pulling away from Carla. He quickly gave his sister a look, he expected her to be there and his mother too. They had always stuck together, so they would follow where Alcide went. It was also expected of them to follow, because it would be his mother and sister that would take careful watch over Carla and the pup during birth.

No one had told Carla yet, but she was not going to a hospital to have her baby. The idea would have been madness. Sometimes if the mother was very in control of her shifts she could go to a hospital, but because Carla wasn't she would be confined to home birthing.

The last thing they needed was a woman changing into a wolf in the middle of a hospital room. They would of course have an elder be present, and the elder would take care of her. Alcide had yet to hear about something going wrong when an elder was present.

There was a loud exhale from Carla's lungs as she thought about their new pack meeting. Everyone knew she was nervous, and there wasn't much comforting words could do. It would take time for her to fall in line with the pack, and it would take her experience.

There was no possible way that starting a new pack would run smoothly, it would take months to work out the kinks. So Carla was at least lucky in that aspect, she wasn't going to be immediately thrown into a position of great expectation

Alcide gave Carla a soft squeeze of her shoulder, trying to remind her that he was still with her. That he and his family were going to get them through this.

* * *

Janice nodded her head at another wear before answering Carla. "I wouldn't worry too much about it; eventually you will know who everyone is." The words were far from comforting, because Carla didn't want to know everyone later, she wanted to know them know.

Sighing she stopped in front of what would unofficially be her mother in law. Grace gave Carla a soft look before turning her attention back to counting the small group of women around her. Carla had found it odd that she was only counting the women, but didn't question. She was sure it was some unknown wolf pack thing she didn't know about yet.

When she was finished she placed her finger to her lip in thought. The women around her bounced in excitement. The women were a lot older then Carla and all probably hovered around the age of Grace.

"It looks like we are starting." Grace murmured, the women around them seemed to perk up at the exact time everyone else started to walk towards Alcide. Grace nodded her head and directed the smaller group of women towards another empty space of grass, away from what her son was doing.

"Okay ladies, this is all new to Carla so we are going to take it slow." Grace said stopping by a small log on the ground. A few glances were shared between the women; Carla felt the embarrassment crawl up her cheeks. The urge to go home was strong.

A dark look crossed Grace's face and an instant silence hung over the girls. "You all seem to forget this position was once new to every leader." Grace snapped, only a few of the girls dared to nod their heads, but others were not so easily convinced.

"Besides, until Carla is ready… I will be guiding her." The tension in the air lessened, Carla could feel the tight tension in her chest begin to unwind. If she had Grace to guide her, she would be fine and she wouldn't be a big as a failure as she thought she would. To be honest Carla didn't have any clue as to why there was a smaller group of only women around them, and she gave Janice a pleading glance.

"If that's settled, I would like to introduce Carla." Grace pointed to her, Carla didn't know if she was required to say anything but when Grace continued on with her speech she figured the time had passed. Grace pointed to every single woman in the group naming each of them off. They all nodded when their name was called and Carla smiled at each of them awkwardly. She wasn't good with names, she never was. But she was good with faces. None of them would know she forgot their names as soon as she was told.

"Carla this is what we would call your Ladies-in-waiting. You are in charge of these women, and each one of them has a specific job. Mostly to look after you, but their jobs range from child care, midwifes, and other kinds of family care. A pack takes care of everyone in the pack. Typically in a pack the women are in charge of social care, whereas the men are in charge of our safety. Sometimes it works a little bit differently, but because the two of you are mated we won't touch on that subject. I know this is a lot right now, but you and I will sit down later and I will explain it to you in greater detail, tonight is really just a way for everyone to get together and start the process of a new pack. " Carla couldn't feel more greatful for Grace's hand on her shoulder, the idea of running that much was beyond her, and with the new baby coming in a few months she had no idea how she was going to handle it. Grace silently turned her eyes away from the group, and removed her hand from Carla's shoulder.

Something was happening with the large group around Alcide. A small number of them were slowly walking towards the woods, and stripping their clothes off. The sight was new to Carla and she could feel the heat rising on her face, she had never seen so many people naked at once. Alcide sent a nod over to his mother, allowing her to know that they were ready.

"Ladies, it looks like they are done. The run begins." Grace chimed; the women didn't sit around to be told twice, each of them walked towards the edge of the woods. They grouped up and it was evident that they were whispering about Carla. Carla's face was quickly etched with a frown.

"Don't worry about them, if there is one thing you can learn tonight, is that your ladies in waiting are always righteous bitches. " Janice's words would have almost been a comfort, if it was something Carla hadn't already figured out. Carla had always found it hard to get along with a large group of women which is why she typically stayed away.

"Come on, your man is waiting for you." Janice grabbed her wrist before she could respond and dragged her towards Alcide who was nodding his head in conversation with Red. Both men were slowly stripping their clothing off. Carla could feel heat rising in her stomach more as the clothing came off her mate. It was normal for her to feel like this now, which she would have thought was crazy before their binding. If it was up to her, Alcide would be naked all the time.

The small conversation between the two men was cut short when Carla arrived, and Janice was called off before she could say anything. Most of their pack was now gone, disappearing off into the woods to check out their new surroundings.

"Hey babe." Alcide greeted, pulling off another sock. Carla sent him a small smile, her arms crossed over her chest. She was trying very hard not to look around wide eyed, and not to jump his bones. The look wasn't missed by Alcide, and he knew she was uncomfortable.

"You okay?" he asked stopping his strip down, his pants were slightly undone and Carla could clearly see his underwear through the opening. They were a normal pair of underwear, gray and there was nothing in particular that was interesting about them. This didn't seem to stop them from looking very good on her boyfriend. That feeling was slowly starting to become stronger, she cleared her throat.

"Yes, it's just a little overwhelming." She choked, her mind was clearly on sex at that moment, and it wasn't hard for Alcide to figure it out. It was after all not hard to smell. Carla of course didn't know this because Alcide knew how embarrassed she would be if he told her.

It reminded him of how little she knew, and at the same time it reminded him about all the things he had still yet to teach her.

"I know babe, it will take a while. But I'll always be here for you." He leaned in to give Carla a quick kiss, then pulled away from her before she could respond. His hands were once again on his hips and he slid the remainder of his pants off.

"Just so you know, emotions get a little high during runs so you will see couples having sex." He said folding his pants up neatly before placing them with his shoes on the ground.

"What?" A shocked look crossed Carla's face, and it slowly started to turn pink. She couldn't imagine walking in on another couple in the middle of an intimate moment like that. But it didn't seem to faze Alcide.

"You know how we get, it's exactly the same. Don't worry about it too much, its normal and everyone has seen it, or done it. So no one is judging." The embarrassment deepened in her face, she couldn't handle the idea of her fellow pack mates seeing her on the ground under her boyfriend like…that.

She had opened her mouth to protest this, her mind and body now clearly set on the idea that they would no longer be having random sex in the woods when he stopped her. There was a lot stranger things that happened in a wolf pack, and she was just starting to learn.

"Also, don't be alarmed if someone sticks their nose up your back end. They can smell the pregnancy on you, and they tend to get very curious." He tilted his head in thought, his face scrunched up. The very idea would have been tempting to him, if he wasn't so use to the sent. He also hadn't missed the looks from other male pack members.

The males were usually the ones who were extremely curious about the sent, and it wasn't uncommon for it to cause sexual arousal. Not that anyone would try anything with Carla, but they would try with their own respected partners.

Whereas the females seemed to knit closer to a pregnant female, it wouldn't be long before Carla had a following of females around her at all times. It had already started, but Carla hadn't noticed because his mother and sister where the two who had started.

"Sounds like a great time." Carla groaned sarcastically, the sound brought a smile to Alcide's face. The comment was more than expected from her. Pulling off the remainder of his clothes he shifted, then peered up at Carla to do the same.

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